He's Still My Brother
by NerdAngel
Summary: (SEQUEL) AU: Dean is back and it doesn't take long for him to learn that even with the Yellow Eyed Demon gone, other threats are still around. Upon returning he learns that hunters, demons, and angels alike are all gunning for one person; Sam Winchester. With Sam having a target on his back and MIA, Dean makes it his mission to find his brother. (STILL IN PROGRESS OF BEING MADE)
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: For anyone who read "He's My Brother" I just want to say first off thank you, and secondly the sequel is in the process of being written. I'm currently 5 chapters in to it which means I have a long ways to go still. I don't think it's going to be as long as the first one was, but I honestly don't know yet. I'm still working out kinks and ideas for this, trying to do what I did last time and pull some things that happened in the show but still twist it to be its own thing. I don't want to start posting until I'm close to the end of it and I'm happy with it, but since I can't post updates that are about story progression, I have to do it a bit differently. So consider this a sneak preview of the story. If anything changes, I'll figure out how to keep you informed through another chapter. I've missed this story and I look forward to getting back to it.**

 **Thank you to anyone who reads, favorites, and/or reviews as well as anyone patient enough to follow this story.**

 **I don't own Supernatural.**

Chapter 1

Many things happened at the same time the moment Dean's heart started to beat. His green eyes that had been closed flew open. Or at least he thought they did. Everything was still as dark as if he had them shut. He tried blinking, which actually took some effort, testing out his theory. It was still too dark to tell. Dean took a deep breath. Several of them and every one of them felt as though he had swallowed needles. A harsh dry cough erupted from him as he struggled to catch his breath in what was stale air which then caused him to gag as the smell of rot caught his nostrils. Dean couldn't move. His neck felt as though it had been pushed up in an uncomfortable position for a long period of time reminding him of the times he had fallen asleep with his head resting on the couch arm. His arms were pinned to his side. He was given very little freedom to move his hands and his feet were scrunched up tight as well.

It was hard for the elder Winchester to not panic, not when his air supply was so low and he was so confined. Realizing that he was crammed to fit whatever he was currently laying in instead of the container having been worked to accommodate him properly, he was overwhelmed with the need to get out. With not much room to move and his body still too weak to do a whole lot of moving, Dean forced himself to beat the best he could on his prison. Luckily for him it took little to no effort. Unfortunately for him, with the top now broken, dirt came tumbling down over Dean's face. He managed to squeeze his eyes shut in time but still got a taste sample of something as dry as his mouth felt and unpleasant to the tastebuds. Trying to keep his mouth and eyes shut he began to put all the strength he had into working the dirt off of him and working his way up.

The process wasn't a quick or easy one but finally he felt his hand stop reaching for crumpled earth and instead he felt a sensation he was not prepared for. It was freezing cold and a lot softer then the previous element he'd been climbing up. Dean retracted his hand in surprise as it burned with the exchange from warm dry earth to cold biting snow. He only paused momentarily before pushing himself to continue. Finally he felt his dirt covered hand reach up and he felt the most inviting feeling he'd experienced in a long time. Fresh air. He pushed himself the hardest he had yet as he broke through the ground and snow, hoisting his head and upper body up. Even the faintess of light caused Dean to call out in surprise and pain as he once again closed his eyes, then slowly cracked them open. With one last desperate yell he managed to pull himself completely from the ground and he laid panting, sweaty, dirty, and exhausted with his cheek and body in the snow.

The scene all around him was covered in a thick layer of white which stood out even brighter against the grey sky. Nearby a raven sounded and other than his own breathing, it was the only sound Dean heard. With his heartbeat still racing and his body fully exerted, the elder Winchester allowed himself to fall asleep in the cold.

When Dean woke again he was shivering. The snow had soaked through his clothes and had bitten into his skin. His entire body ached and burned, but he knew if he didn't get up now, he wouldn't get up again. Already he feared hypothermia may have kicked in and he cursed himself for not pushing himself to get up once he had climbed out of the hole. He moved slower then he would have liked, but he managed to get himself to his knees. Breaking to catch his breath and muster up his strength, he worked on getting to his feet. They wobbled and protested, but Dean managed to keep himself up without crumbling down. Standing a good few minutes, he took his first attempt at walking. Although he didn't remember the first time he took a step away from the couch and towards his encouraging parents, Dean felt like he was learning how to walk all over again. Only instead of a smiling mother and father, his goal was to reach the road and hopefully some help.

As he stood readying himself to take a step forward he took in the world around him. It may have been covered with snow, but it was still recognizable and he remembered exactly where he was. Tombstones protruded out from the ground and a little off in the distance was a mausoleum with iron doors. Skinny dead trees were scattered throughout and in one of them is where Dean found the raven he had heard earlier. Turning to look back at the hole he had managed to squeeze out of, he could see the top of rocks and next to what he quickly realized was his gravesite was another tombstone with a similar grouping of rocks. If there were two graves with the similar decoration, that likely meant that the grave next to his was made by the same person who made his. Which meant the neighboring grave could only belong to one person. The elder Winchester tried to swallow but his throat was too dry and all he got was a metallic taste and the feeling of needles once again accompanied by what felt like multiple stones in the pit of his stomach. Deciding he could grieve later once he was out of the forsaken cemetery, Dean slowly brought his right leg up enough to move it ever so slightly in the direction that would lead him out.

It took him a much longer time than he liked and that it should have, but soon enough he was walking as though he were just very exhausted rather than a zombie. Spotting the road, he let out a sigh of relief and tried to quicken his pace. He wobbled and stumbled but still managed to keep himself on his feet for the most part. The road was a bit icy as was expected in the snow, so Dean found a tree a bit off to the side which he used for support but where he was still in view and waited for a passing car.

A few went by where he had waved and tried to call out, but none had stopped. In fact a few of them upon seeing him had tried to speed up. Finally, a red car came to a halt in front of the worn down freezing man. Dean slowly walked forward as the window on the passenger side rolled down. Leaning heavily on the frame he peered in. It was too dark for him to get a good view of the driver but he could tell by the shape and his voice that it was a man. He could feel the man's eyes taking him in, deciding if it was safe to allow this stranger to enter his car. Trying to lighten up the mood Dean attempted to speak.

"Nice ride," he replied in a hoarse voice. It was still raw from being so dry and hearing himself speak sounded alien to him. Though he was grateful that even though it hurt, he didn't seem to have as much trouble with it as he did walking. "1981 Chevy El Camino, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," the man replied sounding a bit surprised.

"I'm a Chevy man too," Dean explained proudly. "Got me a 1967 Chevy Impala."

There was a bit of a pause and then the driver spoke "is that right?" Jerking his head towards the unoccupied seat next to him he added "hop in Chevy Man."

"Thanks." Dean practically collapsing into the passenger seat and just managing to close the door before the car sped away.

"So if you don't mind me asking, what the hell were you doing out in the middle of nowhere? Or more specifically, out in a cemetery covered in dirt at this hour of the morning? You a grave robber?" The driver inquired suspiciously.

"No."

"You aren't a lonely necro looking for love are you?"

"Wh-? No." Realizing how he must have looked having climbed out of his grave on top of being exhausted and not far from the cemetery he gave a tired answer. "Look it's uh, it's kind of a long story."

"I've got time."

"I'm sure you do, but if it's all the same to you I'm running on empty so maybe we can save story time for later?"

It was clear to Dean that his company didn't like the idea but the man licked his lips and nodded all the same.

"Fair enough. So where are you headed?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Phone's dead so I can't call anyone. I have no idea where my brother is, at this point I just hope he's..." Dean stopped as a thought came to him. "Go ahead and drop me off at the next town. I'll take a bus from there." Feeling around all his pockets he cussed to himself.

"No wallet?"

"Yeah I musta-" catching himself he quickly corrected his words "misplaced it. I'll figure it out, just wherever's convenient."

"Nah no way I'm leaving you like that."

"Well that's kind of you, but the only place I know I can go isn't exactly close."

"Where's that?"

"Sioux Falls."

"South Dakota?"

"Like I said, the guy's not close."

There was a pause before the owner of the vehicle asked "got an address?"

"Uh it's..." Dean struggled to remember having only really driven their once before. "Honestly I can't remember. Twenty-one ninety-four something something."

"This guy have a name?"

"Bobby."

"Bobby Singer?" The driver asked in shock. Dean was equally surprised.

"Yeah..."

"How do you two know each other? If you don't mind me asking."

"Uh, he helped me and my brother awhile back." He stopped and turned to face his company. "How about you?"

"Business." It was quiet between them for awhile before the driver spoke "alright, I'll take you to South Dakota."

Dean felt himself relax further into his seat which he hadn't even thought was possible. "Thanks."

"Sure thing. It's a long ride though and I'd rather be among a friend than a stranger. Gordon Walker," the man introduced himself.

The passenger gave a small tired nod "Dean Winchester."

The driver's head spun to face his company and Dean could feel his eyes on him better than he could see them. "Nice to meet you Dean Winchester."

"Likewise. Thanks again for the ride. If you want, I'll gladly split the driving time so you get a break."

"No offense, but I kinda don't let other people drive my car."

"Yeah no I totally get that. I don't even let Sam drive my Baby if I can help it."

"Sam?"

"My brother."

"I see." The owner of the El Camino reached for the knob that controlled the heat in the car, cranking it up. "We've got a long road ahead of us and you look like you could use some rest Dean. I'll wake you when we get there."

Dean wanted to decline the offer, but his body had other plans. Still spent on his trek back up to solid ground and the cold, he surrcomed to the warmth that filled the car and the lack of needing to do anything physical and soon fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: Alright so I have an update on this story's progression so that means another chapter has to be posted. I have officially finally found my story arc and have already wrote part of the ending for this story! I'm both excited and sad as well as very eager to write this. That being said, I'm still not sure when this will be finished but once I feel comfortable with the amount and what I have written, I will start posting regularly. I plan on posting Wednesdays when I do start up again, just like I did with "He's My Brother." I'm pretty sure this is how the second chapter is going to go, but there is a small chance I may change it a bit once I start posting regularly.**

 **I'd like to thank everyone who reads, reviews, follows, and/or favorites this story and/or me. A special thank you to mckydstarlight, See See, hectatess, jojospn, and Shadowpletlove for all your recent reviews. Mckydstarlight, hectatess, and jojospn, it's awesome and I'm so grateful to hear from you guys again! I know you were all with me throughout all of "He's My Brother" and I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to see you all back for this one. As well of course as the rest of those who reviewed and are following. You all are awesome! But a very very special thanks to LilyBolt. You haven't just followed and reviewed, you are part of why I'm able to do this sequel. I wasn't sure I should and yet not only did you have faith in me, but you also helped me find my arc. Thank you doesn't even begin to cover it. You are truly phenomenal.**

Chapter 2

When Dean opened his eyes again, he was just as confused as he had been the first time. There were many differences to when he came to in the too small grave with a few similarities, the first one being he couldn't tell if his eyes were opened or closed. Much like the first time, he only knew when he blinked from hearing his lashes as he rapidly opened and closed his eyes. This time the air wasn't stale when Dean took a breath, but it still didn't feel like it was fresh air either. It was more like it was stuffy, in need of some circulation throughout where ever he was.

Thankfully there was no smell of rot or earth, in fact he couldn't smell anything nor could he hear anything. Instead of nasty decaying wood, he was laying on what felt like a firm cot with a blanket or two which was an improvement and would have been better had he not noticed how uncomfortable his wrists were. Although he wasn't in nearly as tight a space as he had been in the old wooden box he had been stuffed in, he was restricted. He could feel his hands bound securely with heavy chains which he guessed were iron. When he tried to move, he found they were fastened to something else close by, more than likely the wall behind him.

"What the fuck?" He mumbled to himself as he moved his arm as though he were a puppet confused by his strings. "Hey!" He called out. "HEY!" Dean began to cough as he rubbed tenderly at his throat. He sat like that for awhile until finally he heard the first sound that wasn't his echo bouncing off the walls when he yelled. It was footsteps approaching. The eldest Winchester's heart began to race and his stomach felt as though it had dropped. There was the sound of a heavy door opening and Dean was once again blinded with light this time it was artificial and not natural. He hissed and squeezed his eyes shut before slowly cracking one open and then other. The elder Winchester brother was still adjusting to the sudden brightness, but he got an idea of where his new prison was. Or at least a vague idea. Dean appeared to be in what looked like a circular room that had concrete walls all around him with one large door made out of a sturdy material. Iron? He had been correct about the cot and blankets and when he peered up, he noticed what most would think is either a star or a pentagram made from the same material as the door.

Having taken in his surroundings, the elder Winchester rotated his head in the direction of the newcomer. It was a man who was the same height or thereabouts as Dean but with a bit more muscular build and much darker skin. He wore his black hair a little more than a shave and his facial hair nice and neat. He was wearing a faded red and grey plaid flannel with jeans and a pair of lace up boots. His dark eyes were fastened on the man on the cot and Dean instantly knew who he was. Even without ever having actually gotten a clear look at him before.

"And that kids, is why you never hitchhike," the elder Winchester jested hoarsely.

"I'm glad to see you're finally awake Dean, you've been out for some time."

"Yeah well, I thought you said you'd wake me when we got to South Dakota. We there already?"

"Funny. Keep that humor, it'll get you through this. Now we can do this the easy way, you tell me everything I want to know; or we can do this the hard way, you tell me everything I want to know in a less...pleasant manner. Choice is yours."

Dean sat with his hands resting on the cot and his eyes fixed on his capturer. "Well Gordy, you see, I've never been good with multiple choice, but I'm also not the 'easy way out' kinda guy." The men stared at each other in silence, neither one of them turning their attention elsewhere or looking away.

"Fair enough. Me personally, I've always excelled at it and truth be told, I'm determined. I will find out what I need to know in order to do what that pansy ass Bobby Singer refuses to."

Dean snickered. "I don't think we're talking about the same guy. You must have him confused with some other Bobby Singer."

"Five foot something guy, wears a trucker cap, owns a salvage company, lives in a family home alone, calls people 'Idjits.' Ring any bells?" The elder Winchester simply stared. "Yeah that's what I thought. You see, some time ago, Bobby and the Harvelle's had a hand in opening up the Gates of Hell and letting loose thousands of demons. Turns out however that they weren't alone. Some guy named Sam Winchester, if you can call him a guy, was the one who actually opened the Gates." Dean's stomach turned as Gordon told his story. "Rumor has it this 'guy' is part demon and is actually the true vessel of, get this, the devil himself. But you already know all that, don't you? Cause that thing is your brother."

"All I know is that kind of talk can land you in the Nuthouse. You shouldn't believe every campfire story you hear." Dean remarked trying not to show emotion despite wanting rip the man apart for having referred to his family as a thing.

"That's just the thing, I heard it from someone that was actually there. And you know something else? I have it on good authority that you were there too. Heard you died that night. Makes sense why I found you looking like you took a dirt nap. What it doesn't explain is how you're here walking and talking and why you aren't missing a good portion of your head. Luckily for you, I'm more interested in your demonic brother at the moment."

The elder Winchester kept his best poker face that consisted of a slight mocking smirk. "Oh yeah, who told you all this? The Crypt Keeper?"

"You think this is cute Dean?" Gordon asked with heat in his tone.

"I think it's adorable," he shot back. "And I think you may be a few fries short of a Happy Meal."

Now it was capturer's turn to scoff. "That's real rich coming from a dead guy who's brother has demon blood pumping through his veins. You can play dumb all you want Dean, sooner or later I will find out what I need to know and then I'll end that filthy demon spawn's life. Sam Winchester must die. In the meantime, I'll give you some time to think," The man remarked.

"You know what I think?" the elder Winchester retorted, "I think you were dropped you on your head one too many times." The elder Winchester didn't have time to react as one of Gordon's fists made contact with Dean's left cheek. A surprised shout escaped him and he could already feel his lip beginning to swell. There was another swift punch to the other side of his face quickly followed by a fist to his stomach. Dean doubled over with a groan as he felt nausea rise and his head swim. Without another word, Gordon turned and marched out of the room, slamming and locking the door behind him and submerging Dean into darkness once more.

He wasn't focused on the dark or the pain that was throbbing in the spots that had come into contact with the angry man, they were on his words. He felt a fire in the pit of his stomach and although it hurt, it hadn't been from the punch. Someone had told this guy about the incident at the Gates of Hell. More importantly, someone had been playing both sides of the fields and reporting back which ultimately put Sam in danger. Dean tried to remember who had been there that victorious and fateful night. He had of course, but he'd been battling control from the yellow eyed demon and he'd rather die than hurt his family in anyway. It couldn't have been the demon either. He'd been too occupied trying to get close to Sam the second he had made himself cozy in his new vessel.

Their mother had been there. Although the eldest Winchester couldn't recall everything from his time of possession, he knew she had been there because the first thing he had seen when he had won back control, had been her body. Even before that, she wouldn't betray her family either.

Bobby had been there, Dean vaguely recalled getting glimpses of the man as he tried to keep himself at least conscious through as much of his time not in control as possibly. After having seen his willingness to help his brother it made sense he would have been there. Although neither of them had known the hunter for long, Dean knew that it would be highly unlikely that Bobby would do something like that to the Winchesters.

Gordon had also mentioned the Harvelle's. That name seemed like one he somewhat recalled, but he couldn't put a face or memory to the name. His best guess was that they were introduced to his family after he'd been possessed and when he didn't win the struggle for consciousness. Which had been the vast majority of the time. Having no recollection of anyone with the name, they were the most likely candidates. Unless of course someone else had witnessed that night, possibly unseen by everyone.

His time possessed had seemed almost like a dream or a blur of events that seemed impossible to string together to create any kind of sense. Because it was all so unclear, the words Gordon spewed about his brother seemed likely a myth used to put Sam at risk. Part demon? Sam? Sure his brother had his bitch moments and right up to the moment Dean had pulled the trigger to save his sibling, the elder Winchester had thought the younger man had hated him. Though when you do something as drastic as shooting yourself in the head, most people with a soul will say anything they think you want to hear to stop you. It's for that reason Dean wasn't sure what to make of it. But none of that mattered now. All that mattered was finding out how to get away from his prison and capturer and find out the answer to the million dollar question; where is Sam Winchester?

 **A/n: Thank you all again for your time, thoughts, and patience with this story. And again, thank you LilyBolt for helping make this happen.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: Hey everyone. Alright so I've been super busy and I've had major writer's block so I sadly haven't been able to write anything recently. I can tell you I'm currently on chapter 11 for this story as well as have some of the end written out. As I've said before, I'll keep you guys posted if anything changes, but as of right now, I do plan on finishing this story. I don't know when (I'm going to be moving in a few months so I'm going to be super busy towards the end of this year and beginning of the next), and I'll send out chapters to keep you informed, but I do plan on seeing this through. I figured I would post today instead of Wednesday this week since I'm going to be at Disneyland Wednesday and they have terrible reception there and drain my phone battery.**

 **Thank you of course to all my followers as well as any one who reads, reviews, and/or favorites this story and/or me. A special thank you to hectatess, Shadowpletlove, and LilyBolt for your recent reviews.**

 **Also I just want to give a warning there is some light torture in this chapter.**

Chapter 3

With no windows it was impossible for Dean to know how long he had been sitting in the holding room before he heard footsteps again. Just like before, there was the sound of the iron door opening, the lights flashed on, and Gordon approached him. He was holding a water bottle and an apple in one hand which even though the elder Winchester didn't really care for apples, unless they were in a pie, he felt his stomach rumble involuntarily.

"Hungry?" Gordon asked. The prisoner didn't respond. "Here's the deal, you tell me where your so-called brother is, and I'll give you these."

"Sounds good," Dean responded in a raspy dry voice. "Here's my counter...go fuck yourself."

His capturer shook his head and sighed. "I really think you should reconsider Dean. You aren't going to like what comes next if you continue to refuse."

"Well," the elder Winchester shrugged with a tired smug grin "I guess we'll find out. Won't we?"

Gordon shook his head once more. "It's your funeral man." With that, he turned away and left, taking the food, water, and light with him. Dean swallowed and rested his head against the wall as he closed his eyes.

What had happened after he had died? It was as though everything he had known had changed. Although when he thought back, it had changed the night he had shown up on Sam's doorstep. Things had been fine, normal, par for the course for the Winchesters. Mary had been working a normal job at a local restaurant as a waitress, he had been working at the same garage that he'd worked at since he was fifteen, and Sam had been in California at Standford getting a degree in law. And married, as Dean later learned from an unpleasant interrogation session after his sister-in-law's death.

Dean had helped out around the house both when he wasn't living at home and when he was and he'd been rewarded with a nice homemade meal. Sam would call, their mom from time to time to check in, but only ever her. If Dean was there when her youngest called, she'd always put him on speaker and announce that his brother was there too. Sam would acknowledge him and make small talk before all of the sudden he just remembered he had something else that needed to be done that second that also required his full attention and he'd bid them goodbye. It didn't go unnoticed by either of them and he remembered a time their mom had tried to call her youngest out on it, but Sam wiggled his way free with his impeccable ability to talk his way out of anything. His younger sibling was gifted with not only the ultimate puppy dog eyed look, but also the voice of someone who had just had their puppy dog kicked. Dean admitted that despite their rocky relationship, he'd fallen for it a few times himself. Of course so did Mary.

The thought of their mother caused the stone in the stomach feeling to return to him and he could feel tears beginning to well up in his eyes. Between clawing his way out of his grave and being kidnapped by a psycho, Dean hadn't had a whole lot of time to think about Mary. The imagery from that night came back as though an old movie reel had started rolling in his head, creating a disturbing mental picture that he couldn't turn off or hide from. He remembered her lifeless eyes and her lips which had been parted slightly like she was going to say something but didn't get the chance to. Worst of all, he remembered who's hands had snapped her neck. Or rather, who's fingers. The elder Winchester began to shake and felt his body try to purge itself at the memory. The same feeling of needles he had felt when he first took a breath had returned and with nothing to actually vomit, he instead coughed until they turned into painful dry heaves.

He didn't get a chance to reflect on anything more as once again he heard Gordon's boots drawing near. However, there was a new sound that accompanied him this time. It was a high pitch squealing noise along with the sound of something rolling on the ground. When the door opened the room lit up and the item that had created all the rackus was the first thing he saw followed by the man holding him prisoner. It was a metal tray on a cart with wheels and an old dirty sheet thrown over the top of it. As he continued to push the cart, Dean could hear rattling coming from under the cloth. He felt his heartbeat pick up but did well to keep his face emotionless as Gordon approached.

"You know you should really oil that thing, it's killer on the ears."

The man continued on as though he hadn't heard him until he came to a stop in front of him.

"Last chance to cooperate with me Dean," he warned.

"Pass," he choked out.

Gordon shook his head. "Alright, have it your way." He pulled back the sheet to reveal various tools and though it was more like something he'd seen in the movies than he's experienced in life, Dean had a pretty good idea about what was coming next. Still managing to pull off a glare that masked his true thoughts of his situation, he simply stared at Gordon who grabbed his left hand and placed a burlap sack over it, sealing it at his wrist with a zip tie and doing the same with his right. "Sam Winchester," the very sound of his brother's name being said by the psychopath now wielding a small knife put a mix of sick and fire in his belly "where is he?"

"Go fuck yourself," Dean responded with his tone full of venom.

"Wrong answer," Gordon slid the edge of the knife along his prisoner's face swiftly. The elder brother hissed through his teeth. "Where is Sam Winchester?" Another colorful response was given and a deeper cut was made, this time by his clavical. The two of them went back and forth, Gordon with insisting on Dean telling him where his brother was, Dean on his refusals answered by another cut somewhere new and a little deeper every time. Finally the man before him sighed and put down the knife. "I don't get it," he replied as his eyes danced around the items at his disposal, "at this rate you're as inhuman as that demon filth you're protecting. Don't you wanna live in a world where people don't have to walk among things that go bump in the night? That's all I want. For the evil that inhabits our earth to be eradicated. I'm just like any other guy, any other hunter. I'm just trying to do my job. Nothing more nothing less. I'm not the bad guy here Dean. Sam is. Sooner or later, you've gotta see that. He's a monster."

"You're wrong," Dean said simply as he shook his head.

"I'm really not." The hunter finally settled on his next weapon of choice, taking up what looked like a small sharp stake in on hand and a pair of scissors in the other. The elder Winchester watched as Gordon snipped the tie and removed the bag from his right hand. Putting down the scissors, he gripped Dean's hand tightly so he couldn't move it and brought the stake like object so that it dug and pricked underneath his dirty index fingernail. The prisoner let out a loud involuntary scream and tried to pull himself away only causing the tip to jab in further under into his skin. Tears pricked at his eyes.

"You can cut me up," his voice was barely more than a whisper "you can starve me, dehydrate me, torture me however you want. I'm not telling you a God damn thing about Sam." His response was another stab under his thumbnail causing Dean to scream again.

"You shouldn't use the Lord's name in vain," he scolded before moving on to staking under his pinky nail. Dean let out another scream though this one sounded more scratchy. "You know what the best part about a panic room is Dean? It's practically sound proof and hard to break in or out of. I can keep you here as long as it takes and no one has any idea." The elder brother knew that didn't matter when no one knew he was alive anyways, but he decided it was best that he didn't say anything about that. The less the hunter knew about him or his brother, the better.

Gordon continued to torture his prisoner until finally he put down the device onto the tray again and grabbed a hand towel which he dipped in a small bowl of water that was next to the tools and began to wipe Dean's blood from his hands. His eyes scanned over his prisoner as if admiring his work and already coming up with an idea as to where he would start when he picked it up again. He threw the towel down and returned the sheet to cover the items.

"Anyone ever tell you" Dean sounded as though he was going to pass out at any moment now "you're crappy at manicures?"

"I'll warrant you this much, you've got spunk. Unfortunately, that's not going to do you any good." With the prisoner spent and barely conscious, Gordon rolled the cart back out of the room and closed the door behind them.

For the first time since he had been taken by the hunter, Dean felt grateful that there were no lights. Not that he could see himself or that anyone else could see him anyways. He sat with both bloody hands free from the bags palms up and resting on his legs and his body sagged against the wall. His already dry and parched throat felt as though he had swallowed fire and gravel at the same time and his stomach let out a low rumble. Although his body was still aching and his fingernails were still throbbing, Dean tried his best to shut the pain and everything else out and go to sleep.

He wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious when he woke to a noise he hadn't heard or expected. It sounded like a loud flapping of wings, as though a giant bird had entered. Dean's eyes darted around the dark room, but without any light, it was useless.

"H-hello?" He tried to call out in a hoarse whisper. No one responded but the prisoner was aware that he was not alone. Unable to do anything but continue to sit on the cot, he kept his senses as sharp as he could. Without any warning, Dean felt something press against his forehead and his head began to spin causing him to feel queasy. Even though he knew it didn't make any deference, he squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the spinning to stop.

"You're alright now." The new voice was deep and unfamiliar to the elder Winchester. He opened his eyes, and he was grateful in that moment he hadn't had anything to eat. He blinked a few times, feeling like he'd just got off of a spinning ride and looked into the blue eyes of the stranger who had spoken to him. The face appeared to have no expression as it stared back.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean asked the man unsure if he was friend or foe.

"I'm Castiel. I'm an angel of the Lord."

 **A/n: Thank you so much for reading! Please feel free to let me know what you think so far and again, I really appreciate your patience with me and this story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/n: So I feel terrible for not having a Halloween story to post this year. It's my favorite holiday, my favorite time of year, and it just got away from me since I've been busy. For that I apologize, but to make up for it I've decided to post another chapter of this story. I have 12 and a half chapters for this so far, but finding time has gotten harder.**

 **Thank you of course to all my followers as well as any one who reads, reviews, and/or favorites this story and/or me as well as for your patience and support. A special thank you to hectatess, jojospn, LilyBolt, and Souless666 for your recent reviews.**

Chapter 4

"Yeah, right, and I'm the Prince of Egypt." Dean retorted.

"You're Dean Winchester," the man who claimed to be an angel responded. His response threw the elder Winchester off guard.

Squinting suspiciously at Castiel, he said "you don't know me." The man moved his right hand with his index and middle finger outstretched and aimed for Dean's forehead. The moment they touched, he felt a weird sensation unlike anything he'd ever felt then nothing. He looked down at his bloody nails and was surprised to see no blood at all. The pain and the cuts had vanished and when he ran his hands over where Gordon had used his knife, he found no signs he'd been injured. Dean looked at the man standing in front of him clad in a tan trench coat, suit, and tie. The elder Winchester's eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. "How did...What did you do to me?"

"I healed you," the angel answered simply. Dean continued to stare incredulously for awhile longer before turning his attention to his surroundings.

"Where are we?" He asked as he looked around him. He was once again outside but even with the snow, he didn't feel as cold as he had back at the cemetery. A few feet from where they stood there was an unoccupied playground covered in white and a bit further down from that was what appeared to be a lake. Dean couldn't tell from where he was standing, but he imagined it was likely frozen over. The scene was a nice one, peaceful, by far the best he'd seen since his journey out of the cemetery.

"Somewhere safe," Castiel replied. Although that was a comforting response, there was still somewhere he'd rather be. "So if you know I'm Dean, do you know about my brother?" The elder Winchester asked cautiously.

"Yes, I know about Sam Winchester."

"And do you know where he is?"

"No."

"But you can find him right? I mean you found me and I was holed up in some funky ass prison."

"I knew where to find you, but I can't detect Sam's whereabouts."

Dean's brow furrowed. "What? Why not?!"

"He appears to be cloaked from angels. Some kind of spell."

"Why would Sam hide from angels?"

"I'm not certain the spell is his doing. Or that he's even aware of it," Castiel explained. Dean felt his chest tighten at the thought of his brother being held captive as he had and this time unlike himself, his capturer knew about angels and how to keep people hidden from them.

"We've gotta find him," he reported.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Dean," the man in the trench coat said.

"We've gotta try!"

"Sam isn't my priority."

"I don't give a shit who's your priority!" Dean snapped. "He's my brother and he could be in trouble! I need to find him!"

"I've already explained to you that I'm unable to locate him," Castiel raised his voice in frustration. A thought occupied the elder Winchester's brain.

"Maybe you can't, but I know someone who can." He turned from the angel and started heading towards the entrance and exit of the park.

"Where are you going?"

"To someone who can help," he said over his shoulder. The trench coated man appeared in front of Dean catching him off guard and causing him to jump back.

"I can take you."

"Thanks but I've had my fill of unicorn magic today."

Castiel reached out and touched Dean's forehead with his fingers once again and just as before, everything started spinning. The next time he opened his eyes, he found himself standing among various cars, jeeps, SUVs, and trucks all of which had ice on their windshields and snow on their hoods. The elder Winchester looked around, taking in the familiar sight before heading for the front door. He knocked three times and when no one answered, he rang the doorbell.

"I'm comin' keep yer shirt on!" He heard a gruff voice call out. Dean could feel his heart pounding in his chest as the sound of boots drew closer until they ceased and the door opened. "It's about damn time you-" the hunter stopped short as he stared up at the elder Winchester with his eyes wide and his mouth open.

"Hey Bobby," he started with a grin "long time no see huh?" The owner of the house looked from Dean to Castiel back to Dean speechless. The younger man barely had time to get out of the older man's way before a dagger came flying at him. It didn't dig deep, but the hunter managed to knick his arm as he swung again. Dean hissed and placed a hand to his injury.

"Bobby? What the fuck-?"

The owner's eyes snapped to the cut on Dean's arm. "Alright so yer not a shifter," he said out loud to himself as he saw red peeking through the man's fingers. He leaned in and grabbed an iron poker and swung it.

"Hey hey hey hey! Whoah! Bobby stop! It's me, Dean!"

"Yeah and I'm Vanna White!" He moved to take another swing. Before he could make contact, Castiel placed his fingers on the hunter's forehead like he had done with Dean's and held them there. There was a strange sound almost as though someone was whispering in a foreign language and then Bobby's eyes rolled in the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground. Immediately the elder Winchester dropped down next to him, placing his index and middle finger on his neck. Once he was able to find and successfully check his pulse, Dean sighed and then glared back up at the angel.

"What the hell did you do to him?"

"He's asleep. He should wake in an hour or two."

The younger man shook his head. "We can't just leave him here. Help me move him to the couch." Castiel moved to place his fingers back on the unconscious man's head but Dean blocked him.

"Hey whoah! We're doing it my way. Grab his wrists, I'll grab his ankles. On the count of three we'll lift and carry him. Ready? One, two, three!" Both the angel and the younger man began to walk as carefully as they could towards Bobby's couch where they laid him down gently. "Alright now that that's over...Sam?" Dean moved away from the study room and began to head back towards the hall where he exited the front door. "SAM!" He called out cupping his hands around his mouth to help carry his call.

"Your brother isn't here Dean," Castiel reassured him. The elder Winchester scanned around him ignoring the angel's words and when he didn't find him, he rushed back into the house shutting the door behind him. Dean hurried up the stairs and knocked and opened every door. When he came up empty, he jogged back down and investigated the kitchen. It was cluttered as it had been the last time he'd seen the place, books and dishes everywhere and his computer sitting unused in its usual spot on the table. Just as he turned to leave the room, a group of papers pinned to a corkboard caught his eye. The handwriting looked sloppy, as though he'd been in a hurry when he wrote it. It appeared to Dean to be notes of a sort, like Bobby had been tracking something. Places throughout the US were listed along with things written next to them such as "cattle mutilation" or "thunderstorms" or "unusual temperature fluctuation." As he moved his eyes back and forth reading everything, a single word written in red sharpie with a question mark caused the man to freeze and his breath to catch in his throat. Next to Ponatiac Illinois was "Sam?" Dean took up the paper and flipped it to the back, but nothing else on it or anything else had any further information concerning his sibling.

The younger man returned to the study room where the angel stood next to the still sleeping owner on the sofa. His blue eyes snapped to Dean as he re-entered. Castiel's face remained expressionless.

"I told you Sam wasn't here."

"No, but Bobby may have had an idea on where to start." Dean showed him the paper he had found with his brother's name on it.

"Sam is a common name. How can you be certain he means Sam Winchester?"

"Easy, we ask him."

Before anyone could say anything else, Dean slapped the hunter hard on the cheek. When he got no response, he tried again.

"That won't work. He's going to have to wake up on his own," the trench coated man explained. Then tilting his head and peering down at Bobby he added "it shouldn't be much longer now. Have patience."

"I don't have time for patience! Sam could be in danger for all I know!" The angel shot his head up so that his gaze was fixed on the ceiling."What now?" Dean questioned noticing the strange behavior of his company. Without a word, the sound of a giant wings rang through the room much like it had back in the prison, and Castiel was gone.

"Dick," Dean mumbled under his breath. He sighed and grabbed the chair that sat behind the hunter's study desk and pulled it so that it was closer to the couch. With nothing left to do, the elder Winchester sat down in the seat, and waited for his friend to wake up hoping that the second time they reunited would be less violent and more productive. If anyone knew where Sam was and what had happened after he had sacrificed himself in the cemetery, it was the man who introduced them to this life to begin with.

 **A/n: Thank you for reading! I hope everyone has a safe and fun day! To all those who celebrate, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/n: Alright another holiday is here and once again, I don't have a holiday story this year. So, I decided to post another chapter.**

 **Thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, follows, and/or favorites this story. A special thank you to hectatess, Souless666, and LilyBolt for your recent reviews.**

Chapter 5

The trench coated angel named Castiel had been less than helpful when it came to Dean locating his brother, but he had at least been right not only that Bobby Singer would wake not long after he had said so, but also to have given the hunter an angelic K.O. in the first place. Almost immediately upon opening his eyes and seeing the elder Winchester's face, he sprung into action and tried to attack him.

"Bobby, stop!" He yelled raising his hands up to show he meant no harm. "It's me," he assured him lowering his voice "I'm really Dean. No demon or ghost or whatever the hell else. Just Dean." The older man froze and stared at the young man before him. He didn't make a move towards him, he just kept his eyes unwavering and alert on him. Dean did the same, trying to determine if he needed a plan B in case Bobby tried to kill him again. Finally the wrinkles on the hunter's brow disappeared and a softer look showed on his face. Dean couldn't help but notice the large purple bags under his eyes or how he had wrinkles that didn't go away when the others had. His hair and facial hair looked a bit longer and scragglier then the last time he saw him and possibly even had more grey flecks salted in with his natural brown.

"Dean?" His voice sounded small and incredulous.

"Yeah," Dean's own wasn't much bigger. "Bobby, it's me." Before the man could react, Bobby had his arms wrapped around him. He was a friend, that much was true, but the gesture seemed almost alarming and a bit uncalled for in the elder Winchester's opinion. That didn't mean he wasn't thrilled to see a familiar face, especially one he trusted, so he placed one of his own hands on his friend's back and gave it a few pats. The hunter pulled away and did his best to keep his voice steady.

"Don't get me wrong, it's good to see you boy but, how're you here right now?"

"Actually I uh, was hoping you might know," Dean answered sheepishly.

"Haven't the foggiest. In fact I'm still havin' a hard time believein' yer actually you," the older man confessed. "I saw you with yer brains decoratin' the cemetery ground. I helped yer brother bury you and yer mother." He looked around as though he were expecting to see someone else in the room. "Is she back too?"

Dean shook his head sadly. "I don't think so. Her gravesite looked pretty intact. Bobby, where's Sam?"

Now it was the hunter's turn to shake his head as his dark blue eyes had a hard time staying on the elder Winchester's green.

"I wish I knew."

"What? What do you mean 'you wish you knew?'"

"I mean once you died, and we buried you, the kid just took off." The older man's eyes finally met with Dean's again who's were large at the information. "I wanted to salt'n burn you like a proper hunter's funeral so that you didn't go through what Sam's wife had gone through, but yer brother insisted we bury you and Mary."

"You let my brother just take off?!" The elder Winchester asked raising his voice. "What the hell were you thinking Bobby?!"

"I was thinkin' the boy needed some space!" The man countered defensively. "He watched his family die, Dean! The kid deserved at least some time to grieve alone." It was as though Dean choked on whatever words had wanted to find their way out to chew his friend out further. "Listen," Bobby continued, "after we buried you two and before he took off he mentioned something to me."

"Which was?"

"He said he was gonna find a way to bring you and yer mom back. I told him there was nothing we could do and he told me he'd find someone who would help and that's when he disappeared."

The elder Winchester scrubbed a hand down his face and he let out a long sigh.

"Damnit Sam," he muttered under his breath. "Well," he picked up his voice again so that Bobby could hear him "it looks like my brother was true to his word. At least partially. Here I am, back from the dead."

"You think Sam's why yer back?"

"Isn't it obvious? He must've found someone or some way to do it. The question now is how and where the fuck is he?"

"Well I don't know about you but my brain generally works better when it's not operatin' with an empty stomach. I would imagine you must be pretty damn hungry?"

"Actually, I'm starving," Dean answered putting a hand on his stomach with a scowl. "And thirsty. You got a beer?"

"Does a bear shit in the woods?" Was the older man's response.

"Great, I could use one or three." Noticing the scowl on the hunter's face he added, "it's been a wild ride back topside."

"Well, while I get us some grub goin', you can fill me in on yer 'wild ride' Mr. Toad. That is, if yer feelin' up to it?"

The elder Winchester told the hunter all about his fight to free himself from the coffin, the struggle on earth, his time locked away in Gordon's prison, and the angel Castiel saving him.

Bobby whistled. "Boy, you weren't kiddin'. I'm real sorry about the whole wooden box thing. Had I known you weren't gonna stay dead, I wouldn'tve put you in damn thing. I've met Gordon Walker a few three times. He's a damn good hunter, but somethin' was always a bit off. He's a few cards short of a full deck. I could be wrong, but, I think you nipped that devil business in the bud when you killed the Yellow Eyed Demon a year ago. As for the 'angel' Castiel...I've never heard of angels bein' real, but I suppose if demons are talkin' about Lucifer, it's not as far fetched as I'd thought."

"Tell me about it. There's no way that- wait...a year? I've been gone a whole year?"

"A bit over actually. Maybe now you understand why I didn't believe it was you on my front porch." Bobby placed a bowl of fresh chili and a freshly opened So Sol down in front Dean who had been sitting at the chair stationed next to the computer.

"Thanks," he said picking up his utensil and taking a big bite. His mouthful of his meal tasted unexpectedly delicious for something that had come from a can, and it become very clear to him that he hadn't had anything to eat in a very long time. He quickly shoved another helping into his mouth followed by another.

"Slow down there Speedy Gonzalez. I know it's the first thing you've had in a long time, but you just crawled yer way back up a few days ago. Let's not send you back so soon."

Dean lowered his spoon and looked up at the hunter with a childlike expression and chili on his chin. "Sorry," he apologized as he took a napkin and wiped his face quickly followed by a huge chug of beer. "Have you tried calling Sam?"

"Tried? I musta left that boy a hundred messages."

"He never picked up?"

"Not once. I feel responsible in way. If I'd told him I'd help him, maybe things woulda been different."

Dean finished up the last of his meal and shook his head. "It's not your fault. You were right to tell him no. You told him the same thing when Jessica was the subject matter. The kid's as stubborn as a horse. He'dve found some way around it. I just hope whatever he did he's ok."

"That makes two of us."

"I found this paper with Sam's name on it on your corkboard." The elder Winchester handed the hunter the piece of paper that had caught his eye earlier. "What does it mean?"

Bobby shook his head and sighed. "A whole lotta nothin'. I thought I might've had a lead on where he was, turns out I was wrong. Or at the very least, he's not there anymore."

"Or he is and you just didn't look in the right place."

"Either way, I wrote that months ago. Trust me, if he was in Pontiac, he's not now."

Dean buried his face in his hands then slid them up so that they gripped and held onto his hair.

"It's been a long day. What doya say you get cleaned up and settled down fer the night? I may have some old clothes that will do until we can get you some new ones."

"Thanks, but I can't. I have to find my brother. With that psychopath looking for him and who knows what else, I've gotta get to him. He could already be in danger for all I know. Or worse."

"I know yer worried, I am too. But it won't do us any good without bein' well rested. We don't even know where to look for him. Let's just call it a night and we'll pick up where we left off in the mornin'."

Dean didn't like the idea and he wasn't sure just how much sleep he'd be able to get knowing that his sibling was out there but not knowing where he was or if he was ok, however he didn't see that he had much of a choice. His friend was right when he said they didn't have any idea where Sam was and although he was fine with exhausting himself and staying up however late he needed to to figure it out, he knew Bobby's idea was a better one.

"Yeah. You're right," he sighed deeply defeated. The hunter placed his hand on Dean's shoulder.

"We'll find Sam, don't worry. We won't stop till we do." The elder Winchester smiled up at the older man.

"Thanks Bobby. For everything."

"Anytime." His smile faded "now get yer ass in the shower already. Yer stinkin' up my house." Dean scoffed by brought himself to get up, put his bowl in the sink, polish off the rest of his beer, and get into the shower after Bobby handed him some clothes. Before he entered he turned to look at himself in the mirror.

It had been so long, since he felt like he'd seen his reflection. He leaned in closer and examined the eyes staring back which had indeed been his very own green and not those haunting inhuman yellow they had been before. But even though they were his, he almost didn't recognize them. He could make out his own dark bags under his own eyes which had no doubt been from exhaustion and constant worrying. Although he was still considered a young man, he didn't feel as youthful as he had before he had been possessed. The face that stared back, no matter how long he looked at it, didn't look fully like himself. He moved his gaze and tilted his head to the side to get a better look. Fully intact which made sense since no one who saw him was freaking out, but at the same time didn't make any sense being that he knew he had shot and killed himself. Having no desire to look at his reflection any longer, he pulled back the curtain, twisted the knobs to the preferred temperature, activated the water, stripped, and climbed in.

The water felt refreshing as he stood under the shower head with his eyes closed just letting the hot water wash over him. Even after having been magical healed and the dirt removed from him, he still felt as though his friend was right and he was in desperate need of a shower. Finishing up, he took the towel he had been given, dried himself off, and put on the borrowed clothes. Although Dean wasn't as tall or built as his brother was, he was still 6'1" and in good shape. Bobby was shorter than him and unfortunately that was reflected in the clothes, but for tonight the too short sweats that fell a little bellow Bobby's ankle and a few inches above Dean's and the longsleeve shirt that was baggy on the hunter in the arms and almost constricting to the elder Winchester, would have to do.

The younger man finished up by brushing his teeth and washing his hands and face. As he ran his hands together through the sink water, he found himself staring at them. Turning them over and over lightly became a harder rub at them as though he were trying desperately to get something that was particularly difficult to wash clean off of them. The image of his mom at the cemetery came back again along with him snapping his fingers, and by doing so, her neck. He tried to close his eyes but it was still there playing over and over again. Unable to hide from it, Dean looked at his reflection in the mirror and then with a yell, he drove his fist into the glass. It broke where he made contact and spiderwebbed it's way outward creating an almost ring. He found himself panting as he stood not moving from his spot. Blood was running down his knuckles and had spotted the mirror where he had smashed into it. He brought his fist back and ran it through the water clearing any shards that may have been left, then exited the bathroom. Having been fed, hydrated, showered, and clothed in clean clothes, he headed for the couch in hopes that sleep would find him and he'd have a dreamless night.

 **Happy Thanksgiving everybody!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/n: Hello everyone! Alright, so another holiday draws near and like all the rest of them, I don't think I will be making a SPN Christmas story this year. However, I've decided I'm going to post a chapter of _He's Still My Brother_ every Wednesday this month. **

**Thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, favorites, and/or follows. A special thank you to hectatess and LilyBolt for your last reviews.**

Chapter 6

Dean woke with a start the next morning. After having first opened his eyes to find himself suffocating in a coffin and then in a prison, it didn't come as a shock to him that he had expected to wake up and find himself somewhere unpleasant. Fortunately, this time had been different. Light was streaming in from the windows behind the sofa Dean had been sleeping on. The books and papers that had been all over the room were exactly as they had been the day before. The elder Winchester let out a sigh of relief. It hadn't all been a dream, he had escaped from Gordon Walker and his panic room. But had an angel really been the reason? Or had he dreamed that? If he hadn't been saved from a winged man in a trench coat, how had he managed to get away and get to Bobby's?

"Figured you'd be up," a gruff voice interrupted Dean's thoughts as Bobby appeared from the hallway. The young man blinked at him, his brain still working on catching up. "Coffee?"

"Yes please," Dean answered with groan as he got to his feet. The hunter made his way into the kitchen with his guest not far behind him. He quickly got to work readying the morning caffeine while Dean took a seat at his disarranged table.

"So," he cleared his throat "we know Sam's not in Illinois, what's our next idea?"

Bobby let out a sigh. "Yer guess is as good as mine."

"Well, Jess is dead and his so called best friend is a monster, I can't imagine he's back in California."

Bobby poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Dean.

"Makes sense."

"He's not with Mom," the young man stared absently at his mug for a moment before running his hands over his face. "I have no clue where he is."

The hunter nodded sadly in agreement. His eyes snapped suddenly back at his guest occupying the chair.

"Ya know now that I thinka it, I may know how to find him."

Dean's eyes grew hopeful "how?"

"Tracking spell." Bobby explained. "There's loads of 'em. Only problem is some of them call fer some real exclusive items."

"Such as?"

"Essence of a Kraken."

The young man's eyes widened. "Those are real?" He asked.

"Must be if a spell calls for it."

"Well do you happen to know of any spells that don't call for exclusive items?"

"You know, I just might." The hunter placed his coffee on the counter and exited the kitchen.

Dean tried not to allow himself to get too excited, but just hearing the up turn in his friend's voice gave him a surge of hope.

He took a sip of the coffee to test it's temperature and almost downed it there and then. It was even more inviting and rewarding than the chili had been the night before. He allowed himself to take a good size gulp of it before placing it back on the table. Dean could hear Bobby in the next room over and as he leaned over to peek around the door frame, he could make out the hunter's form over the desk by the fireplace. Curiosity got the better of the young man and he grabbed his mug and joined his friend with a perplexed look on his face.

"I can't believe I didn't thinka this sooner," Bobby said more to himself than to Dean.

"What is it?" He gazed at what looked like a pendulum on a tripod placed over a map.

"This is gonna point us right to Sam," he replied with confidence.

"It's gonna show us what State he's in?" The elder Winchester brother asked unable to keep the hope out of his voice.

"Son, we're gonna know the street."

The young man could feel his heartbeat pick up and he knew it had nothing to do with the currently ignored cup of caffeine still in his grasp. Dean watched fully engrossed in the object that his friend had claimed would tell him exactly where his remaining family was while the hunter began to chant something that didn't quite sound like English. The pendulum began to move around at first back and forth and quickly built up speed moving in all directions. Once Bobby completed the words and fell silent, the device gave one final swing before the pointer stopped on a spot on the map and held its position. Both men leaned in to look at where it had pointed and Dean's breath caught in his throat.

"We've gotta go," he said abandoning his spot quickly.

"Hold on," Bobby started.

"We don't have time to hold on, Sam's at least five and half hours away. We've gotta go."

"Five'na half? Maybe when it's not snowin'." The elder brother hadn't factored in the weather. His friend was right, it was more likely to be anywhere from seven to eight or more depending on how heavily it was snowing.

"All the more reason to get our asses in gear."

"What's got yer boxers in'a twist?"

Dean gave the hunter an incredulous look. "You slip on a banana peel recently?"

"I understand he's yer brother and you wanna find him, I do too, but correct me if I'm wrong, you're surprised by his location. You know where he is."

"I don't have time for this!"

"Considerin' the fact that I'm the one with the car and that the mirror in the bathroom wasn't broken before I went to bed last night, I'd say you can spare a few minutes."

The younger man sighed and his voice became less urgent and demanding. "I'm sorry about the mirror Bobby, I don't know what came over me last night."

"I'm not worried about the mirror ya idjit, I'm worried about you."

"Me?"

"You just got back from bein' deader'na doornail and then tortured, of course I'm worried."

"You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine," Dean said nonchalantly. "I'm just worried about Sam."

"Anyone with eyes can see that," the hunter replied. "Just remember to also take care of yerself."

"I will."

"And another thing, when we find yer brother, go easy. I know that as relieved as yer gonna be ta see him, if he is the reason yer back, yer gonna have some questions. Just remember to take it easy. We have no idea what he's been doin' or what's been goin' on with him for over a year now. And he's gone through a lot." Dean wanted to respond, but decided against it. "So, I'll ask ya again, what's so surprisin' about Lawrence Kansas? What does that mean?"

The elder Winchester took a breath and and then exhaled, he could feel his heart still pounding.

"It means he's home."

 **A/n: Thank you for reading! Please feel free to review. See you next week!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/n: I'm so sorry this is late! I've had company over, I've been under the weather, and I've been running around frantically looking for Xmas gifts. No excuses though really. I just forgot with that's going on that I said I'd post every Wednesday. So here it is, chapter 7.**

 **Special thank you to hectatess and LilyBolt for your reviews. Thank you both for your time, interest, support, and thoughts. Thank you to anyone who reads, reviews, favorites and/or follows.**

Chapter 7

It felt like years since Dean had seen the house he grew up in. And he supposed it had been. The last time he'd seen it was right before he left to go check up on Sam after the scare Mary's friend Missouri had given him concerning his brother's well being. He was taken home from the hospital and brought to that house as was his little brother, and it wasn't until a few years ago he had finally moved out. Dean had moved in with his girlfriend at the time on 53 Baker Ave, not far from his childhood home. Although things hadn't ended on bad terms, Dean and Carmen had decided to part ways and with his father having passed away only a few months before the break up and with his younger sibling away at college, the elder Winchester son thought it had been best to return to live with Mary.

A swarm of memories hit him the moment Bobby pulled the car up along the curb. He remembered playing with Sam on the front lawn. At first it was with cars and army men along with a few plastic dinosaurs, then it became tag and water gun fights or in the winter time snowball fights, a few years later it was baseball and football. Though more often than not, it was Dean and John who played sports while Sam sat locked away in his room studying, or so he claimed. Dean use to tease him about having "alone time" with his secret stash of adult magazines which Sam would turn red and deny angrily. Dean remembered his first true love and favorite activity he'd shared with John, which was working on the 1967 Chevy Impala that the proud father had passed on to his eldest son. They had spent hours working on her, tuning her, driving her, and washing and caring for her.

He remembered the night his little brother would never forgive or forget for as long as he lived, the night of Sam's prom. The elder brother hadn't meant to hook up with Sam's prom date Rachel Nave, and he hadn't meant to ruin his prom night by having done so. They had their fair share of fights and arguments, once Sam was in high school, he hadn't found much in common with his sibling and so he had decided to take to his own path. Gone were the days where he would follow Dean around the house begging his big brother to play with him. He no longer copied every little thing Dean said or did, he no longer shared secrets or time with him. All of the sudden, now that he was in high school, he had tried to avoid Dean like the plague. He had only really communicated with him when he had to, and that was usually at the dinner table or when they had or went to any events as a family. Then of course he remembered the day Sam left for college. He'd just gotten into a huge fight with their father the night before and had been so thrilled at the idea of leaving Lawrence Kansas and getting away, that Dean hadn't had the chance to say goodbye. He'd left early from work, thinking he'd be just in time to see him off, but when he got there Sam had already left. Thinking back on it, between leaving without so much as a phone call and not inviting him to his wedding, he realized how clear his brother had made it that he didn't want Dean to be apart of his life. He'd just been too in denial to see it.

A sudden flickering of light coming from the window of what use to be Sam's room, now a guest room, caught the eldest Winchester's attention and brought him back to the present. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to his friend who had noticed it too. Dean threw open the door and sprinted as fast as the snow would allow him to the front door. He turned the knob and found it locked. Not wasting time Dean began to pound his fist on the door.

"Sam?! Sammy, it's me!"

When there was no answer, he moved as quickly and carefully as he could through the snow covered lawn towards a small patch where flowers use to be. Now it looked pathetic and empty, with exception of a statue of a garden gnome. Dean picked up the odd yard decoration and a key slid out into his hand. He made a sound of triumph, returned the gnome, and crunched back through the snow to the door. It opened with no trouble and he rapidly gained entrance and closed the door behind him. A scream rang out and he sprinted up the stairs.

"Sam?!"

Dean finished the climb and rushed through the hall grabbing onto the door frame of the guest room to stop him. As he peered in he could see a human figure hunched over something on the bed. The elder Winchester didn't get a clear view, but he could have sworn it was another person who was laying not moving. Cautiously, Dean took a few steps into the room closer to the form. It's shoulders seemed broad enough to be his brother, his frame seemed tall enough though a bit more muscular, and the dark hair looked the right color though longer.

"Sammy?" He asked unsure. The figure turned around and when it did, Dean felt his mouth open in silent shock and horror and he took a couple of steps back. The man with the muscular build and the long hair stared at him. The only thing that hadn't changed, were a pair of hazel eyes, though even those seemed a bit unusual as the size of his pupils reminded Dean of cat who'd found catnip. His upper lip, entire mouth, and chain were completely covered in a crimson red and when he bared his teeth at him, they were red as well. His wild stare didn't soften when they fell on Dean and before the elder Winchester knew it, he was being sent flying backwards only stopping when his back hit the hall wall nearly knocking the wind out of him. Sam's hand was outstretched as he got to his feet and began to walk slowly towards Dean.

"Sammy -" the man began but suddenly felt as though he was having the life choked out of him. The younger brother continued to draw closer, his fingers curled in slightly.

"I told you he was off limits," Sam snarled. "I told you to NEVER bring him into my sight!" The more his fingers came together, the harder it was for Dean to breath.

"Sammy -"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" The younger man was now standing a few inches from Dean who continued to choke as invisible hands crushed his throat. "This time when I kill you, you're going to stay dead. DO YOU HEAR ME YOU BITCH?!"

"It's...me," Dean tried again. Sam smirked and shook his head.

"Nice try. But that's not going to work. Not this time. Now, go to Hell. And this time, stay there." Dean attempted to speak again but this time only strained squeaks escaped him and his eyes began to roll in the back of his head. He could hear the hunter calling out for him, but he couldn't call for help or tell the man to run. All he could do was stand up against the wall while everything around him went dark and silent.

XXX

"He's comin' around." The elder brother could hear the familiar gruff voice say to someone. Although he could hear again, it took a bit for him to finally slowly peel open his eyes. Everything was fuzzy and out of focus at first which made him want to close them again, roll over, and vomit. If Bobby was talking in a calm tone, they couldn't be in danger. His friend's gentle calls only made him want to return to slumber, but a second voice caused him to force himself into full consciousness.

"He's not responding to you," it replied impatiently and in a deep almost gravelly voice. It took him a second, but the elder Winchester realized he recognized it as well.

He groaned and pushed himself to stir to show he was indeed coming around. His head felt like a ton of bricks as he tried to lift it and himself from laying down into sitting position.

"Easy son, easy. There's no race." Dean listened to his friend and gently began to force himself up. A pair of strong hands helped him slowly and steadily. Once he was as close to sitting as he was going to get, Dean blinked a few times and rubbed at his throat.

"What happened?" He asked in a raw hoarse whisper. "Shhh, here's some water. Drink carefully not too fast," Bobby instructed as he guided a glass of water to Dean's lips. The liquid felt both welcoming and unforgiving as it rolled down his throat. He coughed a bit, and Bobby pulled the cup back just in case for any reason it didn't stay down or he needed to set the glass down and pat his back.

"Robert's right, you should save your energy and voice," the second voice said.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The elder Winchester croaked.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"I don't give a rat's ass what you said," Dean stopped to cough and then willed his voice to stay as strong and coherent as possible.

"You should. Your trachea was almost completely crushed."

The mentioning of what happened brought a different and more important question to the young man's mind.

"Where's Sam?"

"Yer brother is safe and sound here with us," Bobby reassured him.

"And where's here?" He turned his head slightly to the left then the right. He didn't need an answer after all. "How the hell did we get back to South Dakota?" Dean frowned perplexed.

"I brought you back," the trench coated angel answered. "It wasn't easy. I had to make a few trips. Your vehicle is still outside the house," he said turning to the hunter.

"We'll deal with that later. It's not all that important right now," the man responded. Castiel nodded in agreement and leaned forward with his index and middle finger extending out towards Dean who quickly moved to block him.

"Don't worry," he said calmly "I'm just going to heal you." The elder Winchester eyed him a bit before slowly lowering his hands but not his guard. Castiel's fingertips met Dean's forehead and the sensation he had felt back when he had first been saved from Gordon ran throughout his body and like the first time, it ended. Quicker this time. Dean cleared his throat which no longer hurt and he looked over at the angel.

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Dean questioned. When he wasn't given an answer the elder Winchester shook his head dismissively, "whatever. What happened back in Kansas?"

"Your brother nearly killed you," Castiel reported in monotone voice. "If I hadn't shown up when I did, there's a good chance he would have succeeded."

"How did you know where I was?"

"The same way I knew where you were before. And now that whatever was cloaking Sam has been either disengaged or destroyed, I can locate him as well. If I can locate him, so can others and trust me, there are other angels who have been looking for your brother. I imagine they'll start looking for you too."

Dean blinked and frowned. "Why?"

"You and Sam have a role to play that concerns my brothers and sisters as well as the entire world."

The elder Winchester felt his stomach lurch but tried to ignore it.

"I'm gonna need you to hit pause on that for now," he said to the angel.

"It's impossible to temporarily stop the apocalypse, Dean." Castiel countered. Dean could feel his head start to spin and he lowered it into his hands. The young man could feel his head whirling. He didn't have any reason not to trust the celestial being, but at the same time he hadn't known him that long either and the things he was saying about Sam seemed like pretty big accusations. "Alright just...First thing's first," the young man started as he turned now to face the owner of the house, "take me to Sam."

 **A/n: Thank you so much for reading. Please feel free to let me know what your thoughts are so far. I'll be better about my posts this month, I promise.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/n: I kinda find it interesting that this is the post I have right before the most cheerful holiday. Whereas usually my stories around this time are heartwarming feel good shorts, this chapter...well, you'll see.**

 **Thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, follows, and/or favorites. Welcome to the few new followers and a special thank you to hectatess, Souless666, and dlk for your recent reviews.**

Chapter 8

Dean supposed it wasn't a shock that Bobby Singer had a room very similar to that of the one that Gordon Walker had kept him prisoner in not that long ago. Possibly all hunters did. Although he had never seen the location of the psycho hunter's panic room, this Hunter kept his in the basement. Dean could feel his heart begin to beat against his chest and his breath was coming in a bit heavier than normal as they drew closer to the door. He gulped a few times trying to keep his stomach contents down where they belonged.

"You alright Dean?" His friend's voice broke through and he nodded his head in confirmation.

"I'm good."

Bobby stopped at the door with Dean next to him and he sighed, his expression showed no signs of humor.

"What?" The elder Winchester asked nervously.

"I had to do this for his own safety. And ours," he explained cautiously. "You understand that?"

"Had to do what?"

With one last look at the older brother, the hunter opened the single metal door to the panic room.

It looked similar to Gordon's with a few additions and personal touches. It was cylinder shaped and lined in what looked like iron. A large extraction fan with a metal grill in the shape of what looked like a pentagram was located on the ceiling and was large enough to consume a good portion of the space.

Sitting on a cot much like the one he had been on in Gordon's room, was Sam. His head was down causing some of his hair to fall into his eyes and with the exception of the blood still on the lower half of his face, he reminded Dean more of the little brother who was disgruntled about having lost a game of soccer than a giant man who had nearly strangled him to death. Sam lifted his head to see who had entered and when his gaze fell on Dean, the fire he had shown back at their house was lit once again.

"YOU?!" He roared as he fought against the handcuffs that were holding him securely to the cot.

"Easy there Sam," Bobby tried to coax, putting his hands up to show he meant no harm.

His eyes turned to the hunter. "And you! How could you work with demons?! Especially when they look like him?!"

Both Bobby and the elder Winchester looked at Sam puzzled.

"Just relax kid, no one's workin' with demons."

"Oh yeah," then how do you explain that?" He asked nodding his head in the direction of his older sibling.

"Me? I'm not a demon," Dean said defensively. "I'm back because of you. What did you do?"

Sam looked away bouncing his gaze back and forth from the ground to anywhere that wasn't either of the men before him.

"Nothing," he said in a small voice. "I did nothing. I tried..." He trailed off and closed his eyes trying to keep tears from falling. When he opened them again they were angry once more. "You aren't him! You aren't Dean! You can't be! You're just here to fuck with me! Like Ruby did! You just want me to let the devil out so that he can use me to get free! That's not going to happen! I know your game now, I can see right through you! I'm done playing!"

Despite wanting to get an explanation of what his sibling meant by all that, Dean's voice and demeanor grew soft and he took a few steps closer to Sam.

"Hey, look at me. It's me, alright?" He said gently, raising his hands as he had seen the hunter do. "It's really me Sammy."

"DON'T CALL ME SAMMY!" The younger man yelled.

"What can I do to prove to you I'm me?" Dean inquired still in a calm voice trying not to lose control of himself.

"I got some Holy water and salt back upstairs," Bobby suggested.

"You honestly expect me to believe that will work? You remember how well that trick of yours worked last time?I'm not falling for that again."

Dean frowned and turned to look at the hunter who returned it with a look of his own.

"If you thought wearing my dead brother was going to have some kind of affect on me, congratulations, you were right." The elder Winchester brother brought his attention back to his sibling. "Unfortunately, I don't think the outcome is going to turn out the way you had hoped." His voice was menacing and full of venom as he spoke clearly and low. "I will make sure your death is slow and painful. And it will be my pleasure to see it through personally."

"Come on Sam, there's gotta be something," the elder brother remarked not caring how desperate he sounded. There was a pause and the room fell silent for a minute.

"There's a knife in the pocket inside my jacket. Pull it out."

Dean blinked but did what was asked of him. At first glance it appeared to be a regular hunting knife. Upon further inspection the elder brother noticed the strange symbols, or possibly foreign writing, along the blade.

"What's this for?"

"You wanna prove you're not a demon? Show me your blood."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

The younger man's expression didn't show any signs of humor as he stared down the man before him who's own expression mirrored that of their friend who still stood in the doorway.

"Have you lost your damn mind?"

"Just do it!"

The room fell silent again and the brothers continued to stare at one another. Finally Dean rolled up the sleeve of his borrowed shirt and he brought the strange knife up to his bare arm. The blade sat only a couple of inches from his skin. He felt his hand shaking slightly as he moved the sharp item towards him and closed his eyes and hissed when cold metal bit into his flesh. Blood instantly began to seep out of the fresh wound and he moved his arm so that Sam could see the affect the slice had made. He watched his face not daring to take or let out a breath, waiting for a reaction. The younger man stared fixated on the red that snaked its way out and ran down his sibling's arm; letting out a breath he himself had been holding in. No orange flash or glow, only blood.

"Satisfied?" Dean asked slapping a hand to the wound and applying pressure. Sam only motioned the best he could for his brother to return the knife. Unsure if giving him a sharp object was a smart idea even if he couldn't reach it, he wiped the little bit of blood off onto his shirt and slowly placed it back where he found it. He had been so focused on his own movement, that he didn't see his sibling throw his head at his until it had already come in contact. Dean stumbled backwards a bit, bringing his hand to feel his nose. It wasn't broken, but a drop of red appeared when he pulled his hand back. The elder Winchester looked back at his brother surprised. It had made sense that Sam would glare at him the way he was when he had thought he was a demon, but even after he proved he wasn't, Sam was still looking at Dean with a look of unmistakable hatred. "Dude what the fuck?"

"I can't believe you," was his response.

"Can't believe me?! I didn't do anything!"

"I'm gonna go get you a bandage for that cut," Bobby interrupted briefly before turning and leaving the brothers alone.

"You didn't do anything?" Sam echoed as though the hunter hadn't spoken. "You're going to stand there and tell me you didn't do anything? Really?"

"Yeah really, because I didn't!"

The younger man scoffed and shook his head. "Right. So leaving me the way you did...you call that not doing anything?" The familiar sinking feeling occupied Dean's gut as they stared at each other. "You left me, Dean," Sam's voice shook with emotion. The elder sibling swallowed and his features grew downcast. "You left me all alone after I told you, after I begged you not to. " For a moment, Dean was rendered speechless.

"I didn't mean...It was the only way to keep you safe."

"I didn't need to be kept safe, I needed you." The feeling of being nauseous left him and a fire took its place.

"You needed me huh? That's funny. That wasn't the case last I remember it. Wasn't it you who told me you hated me and that you wanted me out of your life?" He stopped for only a second before pressing on. "Wasn't it you who didn't invite me to your fucking wedding? Wasn't it you who told Dad to go to Hell and then bit my head off for defending him while you continued to ignore him like he didn't exist even after Mom and I told you he was sick?" Both of them only glared at each other for awhile before Dean added "yeah, you really sound like you needed me. I'm really feeling your loss."

"You don't have any idea how I felt that night, or any of those other times!" Sam countered. "Not one damn idea!"

"You know? You're right, I don't. See I can't imagine not inviting you to something as big as my wedding, or bailing on you before I left somewhere. I can't imagine talking to Dad the way you did or saying the things to you that you say to me." Dean scoffed. "I just can't imagine being that selfish."

The room fell silent once more but the air around the Winchesters was anything but. The hunter must have felt it because he entered only to hand Dean what was necessary to patch up the cut and then was gone without a word.

"Fuck you."

The elder Winchester brother snapped his fingers and pointed at the younger man, "there's that brotherly love. I'm really glad I climbed out of that rotting box six feet under and found you."

"No one asked you to," Sam snapped.

"You're right. I just did it on my own. That's what loyalty is. That's someone who cares about their family!"

"Oh is that what that is?" Sam retorted with a snicker, "see to me that sounds more like you were looking because you missed having someone to control and bitch at about how shitty they treat you."

"Yeah you know what? Let's talk about control for a minute. What the fuck was that freaky crap you did back at the house?"

"You wouldn't understand," the younger brother replied coolly. "I wouldn't expect you to. You've never really had an open mind to anything like this. You or Dad. I guess that should have been my first clue that you were possessed after the accident last year."

It took everything in Dean curled his fingers into his palm creating a fist and dug his nails into his own skin. "Don't bring Dad into this."

"Oh, you mean like you did back at the police station after Jessica died?"

"Let it go already!" Dean roared. "I'm so fucking sick and tired of you always bringing up the damn past and bitching about everything that I've done! You hate me, I know! Get over it and get over yourself!"

"That's kind of the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?" Sam countered. "How many times are you going to mention not being invited to my wedding? Or bring up my fight with Dad? You know, you've pulled your fair share of shit in this family yourself Dean. You aren't the perfect son or brother either."

Dean took a shaky breath, "yeah, you've made sure to be a constant reminder of that."

"I'm just returning the favor," Sam shot back. Dean nodded.

"I'll send Bobby down to let you out. Sorry to have gone out looking for you." Before Sam had the chance to respond, the elder brother turned on his heels and headed back towards the basement. "Don't let the door smack your ass on the way out!" He called back over his shoulder, leaving Sam to seether alone in the panic room.

 **A/n: So um...Yeah. On that uplifting note...MERRY CHRISTMAS to all those who celebrate and if you don't, happy holidays!**

 **Dlk: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/n: I hope everyone had a great holiday!**

 **Thank you to everyone who reads, writes, follows, and/or favorites. A special thank you to hectatess and Souless666 for your recent reviews.**

Chapter 9

Bobby could hear the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching and soon after saw the heated face of the elder Winchester brother appear. He had been able to make out a few raised voices, though upstairs, that's all he could get from it. Not that he needed to hear what they were saying to each other, he had a good idea based off of the brief time he had been down there with them.

"Mind if I grab a beer?"' Dean asked entering the kitchen as though he already knew the answer and it was said more as a courtesy than a question as he helped himself.

"Did you listen to a word I said before enterin' that damn room?" The hunter questioned as Dean reappeared with an El Sol pressed to his lips. He pulled it away and smacked.

"Every word."

"So you just chose to ignore me then?"

The younger man rolled his eyes. "I tried, ok?" He remarked defensively. "He doesn't want to listen to me. He'd rather bring up the past and rip me a new one."

"The past hasn't exactly been easy for him. And before you go gettin' yer boxers in'a twist I don't mean yer past past. I don't know anythin' short of what you Winchesters have told me," Bobby quickly added. "I'm talkin' about the time you've been gone."

"I thought you didn't know what he was doing?"

"I didn't. I still don't. But I was there in the aftermath of that night in the cemetery," the hunter informed gently. "I know you don't remember much, but I don't only remember it, I saw it."

Dean scoffed. "A whole lot of good it did me," he commented bitterly. "I died to save Sam and when I get back, I find out he still hates me."

"You didn't see him that night Dean."

"Yeah, sorry I missed the grave dance. Did he at least have the decency to not piss on it before he left?" The elder brother tilted the bottle back to his lips, however instead of a steady flow running smoothly down his throat, it was poured all down his chin and onto his shirt.

"What the hell?" He called out with eyes wide in surprise as he stared at his friend who now was holding his beverage.

"You've got a lotta nerve Dean Winchester!" He stormed. "Yer brother was beside himself! By the time I found him he was a mess cradlin' an even bigger mess! He watched you die Dean! And yeah ok sure, you did it to save him, but you shot yerself right in front of him!" Something in Dean's eyes changed in demeanour and he no longer could hold his friend's gaze. "I get you two have yer issues, what family doesn't? Maybe you're under the impression family is all hearts and rainbows? They ain't. They're a ragin' pain in the ass, but that doesn't mean they don't care."

Dean nodded and bit the inside of his cheek. "You should probably let him out. I don't wanna keep him where he doesn't wanna be any longer."

"I would strongly advise against that," a third voice cut in. Both men had been so occupied with the topic at hand that they had forgotten the angel was still there.

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Because your brother is not only a danger to himself, but to others as well."

"What're you talking about?"

"What you saw back in Kansas, that was only an example of what Sam Winchester is capable of."

Dean recalled his first encounter with his brother back in their home. The invisible force that had prevented him from breathing properly, the look in his sibling's eyes, the way he had been gesturing with his hands. It hadn't been normal. It hadn't been human.

"What do I have to yank your teeth out by the roots? What do you mean?!"

The angel sighed. "Sam Winchester has been condoning his demonic powers. His...abilities. This is certain to draw the attention not only of my brethren, but the attention of demons and hunters as well. He's in a very dangerous and potentially deadly position, which also endangers every one around him," the angel informed.

Dean swallowed but kept his best poker face. "Sam doesn't have any abilities. He doesn't have any demonic powers either."

"You're wrong, Dean. The blood that had been given to him by Azazel at six months of age has been...awakened, you may say."

The elder Winchester's head spun and for a second he thought he was going to collapse to the ground.

"You're...You're saying that my brother...has demon blood in him?"

"Yes," Castiel squinted and his brows knitted together. "I figured you already knew all of this. It's one of the requirements to being a vessel for Lucifer."

"Lucifer...? As in the devil?"

"You didn't know?"

Bobby frowned over at the younger man who's color had drained from his face and now looked as though he didn't know where he was. "You don't remember that demon tellin' us about Sam bein' a potential devil suit?" Dean shook his head and then rubbed his eyes. "You might wanna sit down then."

Although he wanted to maintain a strong appearance, the younger man wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep himself up should either of the two tell him anymore. He made his way over to lean up against the desk that Bobby kept stacked with books over by his fireplace.

"Let's start at the beginnin', what do you remember?"

"I...I remember showing up at Sam's place, I remember the fire, and the interrogation afterwards. I remember Sam being a complete mess after his wife died. I remember worrying about him and his mental state. I remember he had nightmares and headaches. I remember you helping us and telling us about this shit being real and Jessica's ghost. I remember going from being in the car to feeling the worst pain I've ever felt in my entire life...And that's it. Well, other than seeing Mom dead and killing the damn demon. Along with myself. Then I woke up in a coffin."

Bobby nodded and sighed. "There's quite a gap," he confirmed. He looked over at the angel and then over at the younger man. "Alright," the hunter rose to his feet. "C'mon you two," he instructed. The angel looked at him perplexed and Dean frowned.

"Come on us two what?" He inquired.

"It's time we fill in as many blanks as possible from all ends. I don't know about you, but I hate puttin' together a puzzle that's missin' all its pieces."

"That doesn't explain why we have to get up," the elder Winchester countered. "Where are we going?"

"We're gonna go to the shovel that's bound to fill up a good number of holes that need fillin' on a lotta things."

"I don't understand how this is relevant," Castiel responded. "You have far more important matters to attend to. I'm sure you can return dirt to its rightful place another time."

Dean rolled his eyes. "He doesn't mean an actual shovel or actual dirt." The younger man pushed himself from the desk and followed the hunter down the stairs, his arms were crossed as they approached the room once again. This time, the angel was also in tow. The younger Winchester looked up at the sound of the door opening with large glossy hazel eyes.

"Hey there Sam," Bobby greeted, stopping a few feet away from the young man. "We've got a lot'a catchin' up to do."

"In other words," Dean chimed in, arms still crossed over his chest. "We're all dying to know what you did last summer."

 **A/n: I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/n: Alright I have an update. I'm edging closer to having 20 chapters completed and when I do, I'll start to post regularly. I'm hoping I can stay on top of things, but I'll let you know if I've reached the end of my rope and have to break until I get another build up. If I have to change anything in a previous chapter that's important to the story, I'll let you guys know what chapter but part of why I'm not just posting immediately after I finish writing a chapter is to give myself time and make sure everything adds up. Thank you everyone for your time, interest, and patience with me. I know a lot of times with breaks as long as these have been between chapters can make it hard to want to continue or hold interest, so I really am grateful to those who are still with me here.**

 **A special thank you to hectatess, Souless666, and LilyBolt for your recent reviews.**

Chapter 10

"Why?" Sam sneered. "So you can judge me and lecture me about my poor decisions?"

"No one's gonna judge you or lecture you," Bobby quickly responded before the elder sibling got the chance to open his mouth. "We just wanna know what's goin' on. You went off the radar and I've been outta my mind worried about you. You've gone through a lot son, I know you have. First yer wife, then yer Mom, then Dean. It hasn't been a field'a daisies for you." Sam shook his head but remained silent.

"If I hadn't gone to California...none of this would have happened," he replied in a small voice. "If I had just stayed in Kansas, Jessica would be alive right now. Probably Mom too. None of this would have happened to any of us. I never should have left."

Before the older brother could open his mouth, something else hit him. He swallowed and allowed his arms to uncross and fall to his sides. If he hadn't run off to make sure Missouri's words hadn't been true, he never would have pulled Sam away from Jessica. There's a chance they'd still be happily married and in school right now. If he hadn't been there, there wouldn't have been a ghost to injure him, causing him to get into the car accident that landed him in critical condition in the hospital. Mary wouldn't have made a deal and he wouldn't have been possessed and therefore he wouldn't have killed her. By all matters, he was the one that should be held responsible for their deaths, not Sam.

"It's not yer fault," Bobby reassured the youngest man. "If it hadn't been Jessica, it woulda been some other girl. The demon's were playin' you."

"But, I never would have met Brady. Which means I would have never met Jess."

At the mention of Sam's college 'friend', Dean tensed. "Speaking of, where is the little douche?"

Sam shook his head. " I...I don't know. I've been looking for him but, so far nothing. That son of a bitch can hide," he reported disappointed. "But trust me, I will find the bastard, and I will make him pay." Heat climbed his words and shone in his eyes.

"Let's just skip to the part where you tell us about being a suit for Lucifer and have demonic blood pumping through your veins," Dean remarked. "Oh and while you're at it, maybe you can explain why you tried to kill me and what the hell was up with that invisible choke out."

Sam bowed his head, his eyes scanning the floor as though he were expecting it to somehow save him from having to give any answers.

"Dean," Bobby scolded.

"What? We deserve to know."

"You already know about me being a vessel for Lucifer," Sam defended himself. "That's old news."

"He doesn't, Sam. He only remembers the events leading up to the car accident and right before he..." He stopped himself, not wanting to work everyone up again.

"You don't remember?" The youngest asked puzzled. "Nope. Nothing."

"Tom, a demon, let loose that I was one of many possibilities to house Lucifer once he was risen. I don't know why, but they all claim I'm the favorite." He paused and took a deep breath. "After you...after I left the cemetery, I learned more about me. Or rather about what was inside of me. Apparently what the Yellow Eyed Demon had come for those ten years after Mom's deal...do you remember that?" Dean shook his head. "Mom made a deal with the demon a long while back. Dad had died and she made a deal for Dad in exchange for...Well he didn't tell her what. But I found out it was in exchange for me. He came into the nursery one night ten years after the deal and he...He fed me his blood."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "He fed you his blood?"

"Yeah."

"And...What? You're a demon?"

"I have demon blood in me."

"How does that even work?"

"I don't know. But over my time without you...I met someone. Ruby. She was a demon. She said she could help me."

"And you believed her?"

"I wasn't right in my head. I just lost everyone," Sam's voice shook.

"And? Where is she now?"

"Dead. I found out that while she had been training me on how to use my 'abilities', she was actually getting me closer and closer to opening the last seal and freeing Lucifer."

"What's the final seal?"

"Killing a demon named Lilith," Sam explained. "Ruby may be gone, but Lilith is still out there." His voice grew soft and he cleared his throat. "Back at the house...Dean, I thought...I thought you were Ruby or Lilith or some demon pretending to be you. You were dead for over a year. I didn't think..."

"It's ok Sammy, I get it."

The upper lip of the younger brother lifted slightly before falling again. "How are you here?"

"Honestly, my money was on you," he admitted. Sam's gaze dropped again.

"I tried. I went to a crossroads demon and I tried to make a deal but no one would deal with me. I tried to look up magic of any kind that could help me, but all the spells I could find required ingredients I couldn't retrieve or help that no one would give. I thought maybe if I was strong enough I could use my powers...I'm sorry Dean. I tried."

"Don't apologize," the elder sibling said softly. "I'm damn glad nothing worked."

Sam's head shot up and his quizzical hazel eyes met Dean's green. "What? How could you say that?"

"Because it means you don't have a price on your head. Your soul is yours and not some demon's."

"Sam may not have sold his soul," the angel butted in. "But with having allowed himself to use his demonic abilities, he's brought himself many threats."

"Who're you?" Sam asked just now noticing the angel.

"Castiel. I'm an angel of the Lord," he answered.

"An...an angel?" The youngest's eyes grew large and watery in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Mom was right? There are angels watching over us?" his tone was hopeful.

"I'm afraid for you, that's not a good thing Sam Winchester."

"What?"

"You've remained hidden for some time, but I can sense whatever has been cloaking you is decreasing in efficiency and soon you will be easy to locate once again. You're a target again."

"But...I-I'm not opening any more seals," he stuttered nervously. "I want nothing to do with any of them. Hell, I've even stayed away from Lilith."

"That doesn't change who you are. What you are. The demons are going to keep working until the seals are broken and their Master is free."

"But you guys will stop them, right?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Why not?" Dean interjected. "You're freaking angels. Aren't you suppose to float around on clouds and watch over people?"

"What Mary Winchester told you about angels isn't true. We are warriors of Heaven. We serve God and his word. Not humans."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I was suppose to be the one that saved you."

"Saved me? You mean bring me back?"

"Yes."

"Well that raises a big question mark," Bobby replied looking from the angel to the elder Winchester brother. "If Sam didn't bring you back, and I didn't do it, and the Angel of the Lord over here didn't...who did?"

 **A/n: Thank you for reading! Hopefully it won't be much longer before the next post. Once again, thank you for your patience.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/n: First and foremost I would like to thank everyone with their patience with this story. I honestly was hoping by now I'd be further along and posting more often. That being said, I said last chapter that once I completed chapter 20 I would start posting. I've reached and finished chapter 20. My goal is to stay ahead of myself with my writing so that there aren't long periods of waiting, but I can't promise you that will indeed be the case. Life can get in the way. But I am still going to see this story through, that I can tell you. So thank you again and here's hoping I can keep the Wednesday posting rolling.**

 **A special thank you to Souless666, LilyBolt, and hectatess for your recent reviews as well as continual interest and support with this story. Thank you to anyone who reads, reviews, follows, and/or favorites this story.**

Chapter 11

I'm sorry that I wasn't able to raise you from predition, Dean." The angel responded in a tone that didn't support his words. Dean's face contorted into a look that suggested not anger, but confusion.

"Wait...what?" Sam cut in. "Did you say perdition?" The angel nodded in confirmation. The younger man looked over at his sibling with large sympathetic eyes. "Dean, you were in Hell?"

"Whoa whoa whoa. Bump the breaks for a second, alright?" The elder Winchester replied before glaring at Castiel. "What the hell? I was in Hell?"

"I believe that when you shot yourself and Azazel, he took you back to Hell with him as a final act against you."

"You don't remember?" Sam asked. Dean turned back to his brother.

"I told you I didn't, didn't I? I told you everything I do remember and I'm pretty sure roasting my chestnuts on an open fire wouldn't be something I would forget." The brothers stared at each other for a while before Sam swallowed and nodded, adverting his watery gaze to the ground.

"There are no chestnuts in Hell, so I'm certain that you weren't roasting any," the angel clarified for the humans. Dean and Bobby stared at the celestial being. "I suppose it doesn't matter how you got out," the trench coated man said. "What matters is that you are."

"Of course it matters how!" The elder Winchester snapped defensively.

"Why?" The angel countered.

Dean cocked his head slightly as he squinted at Castiel. "Do you know something we don't?" He questioned suspiciously.

"I'm certain I know many things you don't."

"Well standin' around pointin' fingers isn't gonna answer any questions," Bobby cut in. "I suggest we all head upstairs and finish this conversation where we can at least be a bit more comfortable." The elder man turned to Sam. "First thing's first, let's get you outta those cuffs."

"I would still strongly advise against that," Castiel warned.

"Yeah yeah, Clarence. I heard you the first time," the hunter grumbled as he pulled a key from a pocket in his vest and unlocked the handcuffs from around Sam's wrist. The angel didn't give a full eye roll, but the look on his face and the upward hold his eyes held was evidence enough he didn't approve. Once he was freed, Sam rose from his spot on the cot and everyone headed up and out of the basement.

The owner of the house made his way into the kitchen where he grabbed three beers from the fridge, popped open the lids, handed two to the eldest Winchesters, and then kept the last one for himself. "I figured you don't drink," he explained to the angel. "You bein' an 'Angel of the Lord' and all."

"Yes that's correct. Necessities humans require such as eating, drinking, urinating, deficating, and sleeping are not ones I have to concern myself with."

"A simple 'no' woulda done," Bobby retorted.

"Hey Bobby, what the hell happened to the mirror in there?" Sam inquired aiming his thumb back towards the restroom as he rejoined the group and took up one of the beers in Dean's hands.

"Ask yer brother." The younger man's eyes fell on his sibling who was doing his best impression of being deaf. He tipped back his bottle and began to chug while Sam continued to stare, waiting for an answer. When one wasn't given, the hunter moved on. "So, you mentioned somethin' about the apocalypse earlier, care to elaborate?"

"It's Michael's destiny to fight Lucifer and win. In doing so, Paradise will be brought to Earth and 'the Devil,' as you call him, will cease to be. That's why angels are on Earth for the first time in thousands of years."

"And during this fight, how many innocent people will die?" Dean asked.

"We can't be concerned with that."

"Can't be concerned?" The elder Winchester said in disbelief. "With people's lives? Don't let them just deep fry the planet because they can't agree on who's got the bigger dick!"

Castiel glared at Dean in a way that caused the elder brother to feel slightly unnerved. "There is nothing I can do about it, Dean. This fight has been planned to happen for centuries before you and Sam were even born. It has nothing to do with the size of their genitalia. Angels don't have any," he explained defensively. "I'm trying to help you and your brother to the best of my abilities but every time I try, you seem to do the exact opposite. I told you Sam was a threat and you decided to release him anyways."

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it," he snapped.

"How am I threat? I've already told you, I stopped breaking seals. I'm nowhere near Lilith."

The angel's vessel's eyes shot over to peer at the taller man. "Maybe so, but you still have demon blood in you Sam. I'm afraid that isn't something you can change, and you nearly strangling your brother is proof that you're still using your powers. At least you have recently."

Sam took a few steps back with large terrified eyes. "I-I can stop. I won't use them anymore. I'll do whatever it takes to keep Lucifer locked up."

The moment he had first seen his sibling back at the house came back to him and he was reminded of what he had thought he had seen as well. Sam had been bent over something on the bed, someone. Blood had been on the lower part of his face. He'd been in shock when he first saw him and then so angry after that, that he hadn't actually paid close enough attention or actually thought much about it.

"The other day when we were home, were you..." Dean paused trying to bring himself to ask his brother but finding his stomach was lurching just at the thought. "were you drinking someone's blood?"

The younger Winchester's gaze bounced around unable to commit to one spot. "It's...It's not what you think," he answered in a shaky voice. The color drained from Dean's face and for a moment Bobby questioned the stability of the young man's legs. The older Winchester placed the back of his hand to his mouth gagging. "Dean, just-just let me explain," Sam begged desperately.

"You can explain?"

"Look, I know how it sounds ok, and I know that it's wrong-"

"Then why did you do it?!"

"Beacause...I already told you, I was working on getting my revenge."

"By sucking some poor person's blood like a fucking vampire?!" Dean yelled.

"It's not like that!" Sam snapped defensively. "She was a demon!"

"I'm gonna be sick," the elder Winchester replied gagging once again.

"This is exactly the kind of behavior the demons are hoping for. Demon blood makes Sam stronger therefore it makes him a stronger vessel for Lucifer. Most humans are too weak to hold a celestial being of Lucifer's caliber for a long period of time," the angel explained. "If you continue down this path Sam Winchester, it is likely you yourself will be beyond redemption."

"Meanin' what exactly?" The hunter pressed.

"Meaning he will become more than just the boy with the demon blood. He'll lose all of his humanity and will in fact become a demon." Dean looked from Castiel to his brother.

"No. No that's-you're wrong," Sam said with panic in his voice.

"I'm sorry Sam, I'm not." The angel replied. The elder Winchester turned to walk away.

"Where are you goin'?" Bobby asked.

"I just need to be alone." The back door opened and slammed shut, Dean disappearing behind it.

 **A/n: Thank you for reading! See you next Wednesday!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/n: I'd like to thank everyone who reads, reviews, follows, and/or favorites this story. Thank you to hectatess, and LilyBolt for your last reviews.**

Chapter 12

Bobby waited several minutes before venturing out to find Dean. It didn't take him long to find him pressed up against the smashed in driver's side of the still crushed Chevy Impala. Tears had stained his cheeks and his head was tilted upward with his eyes staring up at the sky. He only shifted his gaze slightly when he heard the sound of boots crunching on snow and then returned his attention upward once he had seen who it was.

"I never should have gone to California," he commented in a voice just loud enough to catch the hunter's ears as he approached him.

"Why's that?"

"None of this would have happened. Our lives would never have become the shit show they are now if I would've just ignored what Missouri said that day when I ran into her at the store with Mom." Once again his stomach turned at the mere mention. "Sam would still be a normal guy with a normal life happily married and Mom would...she'd still be alive if I hadn't fucked everything up." A fresh tear fell and he quickly swiped it away not bothering to look and see if his company had noticed it.

The hunter sat himself on an old junker not far from where the elder brother was currently sitting. "You sound like yer brother," the older man pointed out. "None of this is either of you boys' fault," he reassured him. The younger man scoffed but still kept his eyes directed up. "You honestly think you're the reason fer all this? You really believe you're capable of it all? You heard yer brother, a demon came in and fed him its blood when he was only a baby. That puts you at what? Three maybe four years old? What exactly does that even have to do with you?"

"Maybe Sam's-" he stopped as his stomach did another turn. "Maybe that's not, but everything else... Jessica died because of me. And mom..."

"Let's get one thing straight Dean," Bobby said in a stern voice. "What yer mother did was her choice, not yers."

"And she wouldn't have been in that situation and made that choice if it hadn't been for me." Finally his gaze was brought down and landed on the remains of the muscle car.

Having noticed, the elder man sighed. "I was gonna scrap it you know?" the hunter admitted. "But Sam told me you know yer way around cars, so, I kept it."

The older man had moved the vehicle into a small covered area before the winter had completely buried it with the intention on fixing it up. Though the reason why hadn't been clear to him. It would have taken more time and effort than the thing was worth, or at least, what it was worth to him. With its original owner back up and running, he had found himself very grateful that he hadn't actually just gutted it after all.

"I can't deal with this, Bobby." Dean finally met his friend's eyes. "I can't deal with demons and angels and Hell and-and Lucifer and Sammy being a demon and Mom being dead, and Baby being...like this. I just can't."

"No one said life was easy son," the hunter replied gently. "Sometimes, we get dealt the shittiest hand there is, but we just have to grin and bare it. You aren't alone Dean, I know maybe you feel like you are and sure, maybe no one else is goin' through exactly what you are, other than maybe yer brother; but you aren't alone. I'm gonna help you two the best I can and you're both always welcome here. Besides, I feel responsible a bit myself," the older man admitted with a sigh. "After all, I'm the one who told you boys about the supernatural."

"After some serious persisting on Sam's part," Dean reminded him.

"Point is, we could all sit around and feel sorry for ourselves and blame ourselves, but what good will it do? It's not gonna bring back yer Mom or Jessica. It's not gonna make the demon blood in Sam just disappear or him bein' a 'true vessel' for the devil stop. So, we just gotta do what we can do. Dust ourselves off, figure out the next move, and kick it in the ass."

Dean nodded at Bobby. "Thanks Bobby."

"No need for thanks. Apparently, helping out you Winchesters has become my second job. Not that I'm complainin' mind you. Now come on," he said extending a hand towards the younger man. "No sense in us turnin' into popsicles out here, or into a couple'a ladies."

The hunter's light teasing caused the corners of Dean's lips to raise slightly and he allowed his friend to help him to his feet and together they returned to the house.

XXX

Dean turned to his left side, then his right, then his left again. Nothing was ok; not with him, not with Sam, not with the world. There was too much that hadn't been answered and too much that needed to be done. Quietly so he didn't wake his brother sleeping on the floor close by, Dean crept from the couch, grabbed his jacket and shoes, and snuck out the back door. The too early morning air stung and bit into Dean the moment he stepped foot outside. As cold as it was, he found himself grateful it was only chilly and not windy or snowing. The elder Winchester looked around as if to make sure no one was watching him, then sighed heavily, and bowed his head.

"Now I lay me down to sleep..." He stopped and cleared his throat. "Father who art in Heaven..." He paused again. "Ok here's the deal. I'm not the praying type so I don't really know what I'm doing here, but...I just, I need answers. Who pulled me out of Hell? Why? Why Sammy? Why is his life shit? He may be a pain at times, but my brother doesn't deserve this. What do you have against me and my family? After everything that we've been through and what's going on with the world, how can anyone believe that you exist?" Dean paused trying to keep himself calm. "A lot of good people have died. Hell, they still are. And now I hear that Lucifer isn't far from rising and he wants to wear my brother for the big coming out party. Where are you in all of this? When is enough enough for you? Huh? What will it take for you to finally give a shit and do something?! The world is on the verge of going to Hell and you're, what? Just kicking back in the clouds with a beer and a big bucket of butter soaked popcorn watching it all happen?!" Dean stopped and took a deep breath, allowing himself to stand in the silence. "Look," he started again gently. " You wanna torture me, fine. I get it. I'm not exactly a believer. In fact I'm not even sure why I'm doing this, but...Sam is. He believes in you. I don't care if you wanna punish me, that's fine; I deserve it. But please, please, don't punish Sammy. The kid's already gone through enough. Please just give my brother a break."

Dean fell quiet. Listening, waiting for any sign to prove him wrong about "The Man Upstairs." When nothing happened the elder Winchester simply nodded his head in disappointment and took a deep breath. "Screw this."

As stealthily as possible, he crept back into the house, snuck into the study room, found a book that should have the answer to his next question, and slipped into the kitchen where he could read without disturbing his sleeping sibling. He thumbed through the pages until he found what he was looking for and not for the first time since being alive again, he wished he could remember his time possessed. No doubt he had learned or been told many things about demons, but hell if he could remember any of them. His eyes scanned the page, taking in all that was needed for his next step and hoping beyond hope that the hunter had everything he needed. Having no clue as to where the older man kept any of his supernatural ingredients, Dean started opening cabinets. Nothing unusually jumped out at him so he moved on to the pantry. Nothing. After the kitchen had been thoroughly checked and he had come up empty handed, the elder Winchester went back into the study room and looked around. It mostly consisted of books and bookcases other than the sofa. Then it dawned on him. He walked quietly over to the desk that occupied many hardback books, including the one he had snatched earlier. Very carefully and slowly, Dean pulled open the top drawer. It squeaked causing him to immediately stop and look over at his brother. When Sam didn't so much as stir, he tried again, slower. Peering in to the drawer, he found nothing. The bottom drawer however proved a lot more useful. Sitting on top of more clutter inside, was exactly everything he needed. Save one thing he himself had to produce. His first thought was wonder how he got so lucky? However the more he pondered it, the more it seemed clear. Dean frowned and shook his head. "Oh Bobby," he whispered to himself. He grabbed the items shoving them in his sweatpants pockets, and tip-toed to the front door. With one last look up the stairs and down the hall, he snatched up the keys to the hunter's Road Runner and silently disappeared through the front door.

 **A/n: Thank you so much for reading. Feel free to leave a comment. See you next Wednesday!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/n: Thank you so much to everyone who reads, reviews, follows and/or favorites this story. A special thank you to hectatess, Guest, and Souless666 for your recent reviews.**

 **Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for your time and comment. I greatly appreciate it!**

Chapter 13

Dean didn't know the area like the back of his hand, but he was good with directions and it helped that he knew his way around a map. He killed the engine when he reached his destination and stepped out of the car. Snow still blanketed the earth, making Dean's task a bit less fast and easy. However he wasn't in his beloved Baby, he was in the hunter's car which meant he had help. The elder Winchester opened the trunk and sure enough, laying towards the back, was an old rust crusted shovel. Dean got to work removing snow from what he deemed the middle of the road until finally he heard a thunk. Layer one was gone, onto layer two, dirt and gravel. Luckily, he didn't need it to be a deep hole, just enough that he can put the small tin box in. The only thing left was a picture. Dean didn't carry around many pictures of himself as it is, but without his wallet, he had nothing. Hoping that at least hair was enough, he closed it up and pushed the dirt and gravel back over the container. The young man's eyes darted around as he waited.

"Well well well, Dean Winchester." The voice seemed to come out of thin air, causing the man to jump slightly and stand to face the owner. A man shorter than him wearing a black suit with an equally as black tie was standing with a content smirk on his face. His eyes glowed red then settled down to a coal black, not making the thing before him any less intimidating. It didn't help that he also seemed to have a constant smile in his eyes, one that Dean found more dangerous than friendly.

"I'll be damned," he said under his breath. "It worked."

"It wasn't easy mind you," the demon said in a rough British accent clearly having heard the man or having read the look on his face. "It was like reading an unsigned art piece made of macaroni created by a kindergartner. A picture would have helped tremendously."

"I made do with what I had," Dean shrugged.

"Really? You look like you belong in a Calvin Klein ad, and you don't have one picture of yourself?" the demon questioned. Dean made a face between disgusted and taken aback. When he didn't answer, the well tailored man moved on. "So, Dean, is there something I can do for you? Or did you come to thank me?"

Dean screwed up his face. "What? What the hell for? Who are you?"

"For Hell of course. Or lack there of. The name's Crowley, you can call me King. I am King of the Crossroads after all." When the man only continued to stare at him, the demon rolled his eyes. "Dumber than advertised I see," he sneered. Dean gave his company his own version of a bitchface. "I'm the reason you're no longer pushing up daisies. You're welcome."

"Why?"

"I'm so glad you asked. You already know that Lucifer is trying to break free from his cage and plans on using your brother to do it, yes?"

"I've heard."

"Well I for one don't want that spoiled little prat out running amok."

Dean quirked an eyebrow. "A demon doesn't want the devil to get loose? Isn't he your God or Overlord or whatever."

"I have my reasons," the demon replied ambiguously. "Anyways that doesn't really matter to you. Tell me Dean, if you had to choose between saving the world and saving your brother, which would you choose?

"So you brought me back to life so that I can choose between the world and Sam?" Dean asked angrily.

"So to speak."

"You're a demon, what does it matter to you?"

"Oh it doesn't. I win either way you slice it."

"Then why are you asking me this?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"It's why you're here is it not? I mean surely you aren't here to make a deal. Unless...?" The elder Winchester didn't respond. "That's what I thought."

"Well if you think I'm going to let anything happen to Sam, you've got another thing coming."

"Spoiler alert, Sam isn't going to make it out alive either way."

The elder Winchester's throat tightened but his expression never waviered.

"So...you brought me back to make a choice that isn't even anything I have a choice in the matter of?"

"That hurt your head a bit didn't it?" The demon retorted.

"Answer me damn it!"

"Look, I'm giving you the opportunity to be a hero and save the world here, Dean. You can't save Sam, but think of all the lives you can save. What more could a man ask for? Well, a man with a soul anyways."

"Let me make one thing clear. Whatever happens, my brother is going to be fine. You hear me?"

"Can I ask you something Dean? Why?"

Dean quirked an eyebrow. "What?" The demon took a few steps closer to the man.

"Why does it matter if he makes it?"

"Sam's my brother. I'm not going to let anything happen to him."

"Well then let me ask you another question. Do you honestly think he would say the same thing about you?"

The night air fell silent and the demon's lips curled into a satisfied grin.

"It doesn't matter," Dean countered. "I'm the one who has to make the decision. Not Sam."

"I thought not," the man said as though Dean hadn't responded. "Alright let's try another approach then. Your brother is part demon."

"So?"

"So? Need I go on?" When the elder Winchester didn't respond, the well tailored vessel sighed. "Demons are the reason you're little orphan Dean. Your father made a deal and your mother," he paused dramatically and his mischievous dark eyes locked on elder Winchester brother. "Well, I'm sure we don't have to go over how a deal was made and you were possessed. A deal that really came back to bite her in the ass. Or rather snap her neck."

"SHUT UP!"

"Too soon?"

"You don't know what you're talking about. My mom may have made a deal, or two, but my dad didn't. He got sick and died, end of story."

"Did he now?" Though the words seemed preposterous, the look on the vessel's face told a different story. "We're getting away from ourselves here. My point is, Sam is a demon. Part, full, it makes no difference. Word around the roaster is that he's had a taste of demon blood. Powerful stuff that, especially to one of Lucifer's true vessels. It's only a matter of time before his craving exceeds and that brother you're trying so hard to save is beyond your reach. Trust me Dean, everyone is better off without Sam Winchester."

"You're wrong," the elder brother's voice shook.

"I'm really not," no evidence of humor was in the demon's tone. He let that sink in a bit before moving on. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm a very busy demon."

"I'm not done with you."

"Maybe not, but I'm done with you." The creature responded as though he couldn't be bothered. "Don't call me, I'll call you. Ta." With that the demon and his vessel were gone, leaving Dean standing alone at the crossroads with more questions than answers.

 **A/n: Thank you all for reading. Please feel free to comment/review. See you next Wednesday!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/n: Thank you for reading, reviewing, following, and/or favoriting this story. A special thank you to hectatess and LilyBolt for your last reviews.**

Chapter 14

Dean was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the two figures standing like brick walls waiting for him as he pulled the hunter's Road Runner into the same spot he had borrowed it from. He braced himself and opened the car door, making sure not to slam it, before making his way over to them.

"You're up early," he replied trying to make light like a teenager caught coming home after curfew. Neither of the men smiled, both sets of eyes were stern and locked on the elder Winchester.

"Same could be said about you," Bobby retorted arms still crossed. "You normally take people's cars out at the buttcrack'a dawn?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that Bobby. I woulda taken Baby but, you know, she's sorta out of commission and I uh, I really wanted a donut."

"Really?" He asked in a tone that told the older brother it wasn't a question of whether or not what he said was true, but a question of rather the younger man really thought he was buying what he said. Dean looked from the hunter to his brother.

"Yeah. Early morning cravings I guess." The older man held out his hand and Dean placed the car keys in it. Without another word, the hunter marched over to the Road Runner, popped the hood, and looked inside.

"Did you need to dig yer way into the shop?" Dean opened and closed his mouth at a loss of words. Bobby slammed the hood down and rejoined the brother's on the porch. "You wanna try that again. Without lyin' through yer ass this time?"

The elder brother licked his lips but kept a neutral expression on his face.

"Not particularly."

"Well then, stop me if I'm wrong. You snuck off with not only my car, but some very specific items." Dean's eyes didn't move away from the elder man, but he could feel another pair of eyes on him watching his reaction. The hunter went on. "You used my stolen car to find yerself a crossroads, used my stolen shovel to bury the stolen box with the stolen items needed, and you summoned yerself a demon." Bobby ended his incredibly accurate accusation as a means to allow Dean to confirm, deny, or fill in the blanks.

"Technically I borrowed," the young man corrected. "I brought you back your car didn't I? Not a scratch on that thing. And your shovel."

"What were you doing with a demon, Dean?" For the first time since the older brother returned to the house, Sam spoke. His voice was calm but Dean knew only too well that it wasn't calm with patience.

"Nothing ok. Look, I still have my soul and no one's coming to collect." He explained sternly only briefly meeting his sibling's hazel eyes. "If you two are gonna grill me can you at least do it inside? I'm freezing my ass off out here and could I use a cup of caffeine...or a pot." Dean turned to disappear into the house, but he was grabbed tightly by the arm and stopped. He gave his brother a scowl. "Dude, what the hell?"

"You really think you can just go out, make a deal with a demon, and then come back acting like everything is fine?" He questioned not letting up his hold on his older sibling.

"Bite me," Dean responded trying to shake his arm free, resulting in Sam tightening his grip.

"I'm only going to ask you this one more time, what were you doing with a demon, Dean?"

With nowhere to go and no way to get out of his brother's lockdown on both his arm and on him in general, the elder Winchester rolled his eyes and sighed. "I just wanted answers."

"What kind of answers?"

"What kind do you think?"

"You wanted to find out who sprung you from Hell." Sam caught on.

Dean nodded. "I figured who better to know who stamped return to sender from Hell, than a demon?"

"And?" Bobby chimed in. Dean didn't answer right away and judging by the way his brother said his name, his face must have been easy to read.

"Yeah."

When that was all he said the hunter spoke up again. "Care to elaborate?"

"Not particularly."

"Well, you're not going anywhere until you do," Sam informed. "So if you're that cold, you might wanna start talking."

"Since when do you care what I do?" Dean's tone packed heat.

"I know what you're doing," Sam respond. His own tone reminded Dean of when their mom's limits were reaching their end. "It's not going to work. Not this time."

When the eldest spoke, he faced the hunter. "A demon did. Crowley, he said his name was Crowley."

"Did this, Crowley, give a reason why?"

Dean swallowed, looked towards the street, then looked back at Bobby with a stoic expression. "To make a choice."

"A choice?"

"Son I can use pliers on ya, but I'd really rather you just come out about it on yer own."

Dean bit his lower lip trying to steadying his words. "Save the world...or save Sam." The elder Winchester felt the grip on his arm loosen.

"What did he mean by that?" Sam questioned.

"I have no idea," Dean admitted.

"Did he say what from or clarify?" Bobby asked.

"No, but he tried to get under my skin with talk about Sam's demon blood. I told him to stick it where the sun don't shine, and then he left." At the mention of demon blood, Sam let go of his brother completely.

"That's it?" Bobby gave Dean a suspicious look.

"That's it." Dean didn't turn to look as he made his way inside and headed straight to the kitchen. He pulled a clean mug from the strainer, grabbed the coffee pot handle, then stopped. He removed his hand returned the mug, and instead went to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer.

For all the smugness the demon Crowley held, and even though nothing about him screamed trustworthy, Dean also hadn't got the vibe that he was lying either. The eldest Winchester may have shared what the demon said about demon blood, but he wasn't about to share the part where Crowley claimed Sam doesn't live either choice he made. No sense in scaring him when Dean wasn't about to let the demon be right about at least that.

"You ok?" The sudden sound of another person's voice startled the young man. He opened his eyes and found his brother staring at him with his own eyes mimicking a disciplined puppy marvelously.

"I'm fine," Dean answered as he took a sip of his El Sol.

"Right," the younger man scoffed. "Because people who are 'fine' help themselves to a beer at five in the morning."

"Well, this fine guy does," Dean gave a mock grin.

"Since when?"

"Since when do-"

"Enough, Dean. Look, I'm...I'm sorry. Ok? I'm sorry for what I said back there and all those other times. I'm sorry that I fought with Dad and I told him to go to Hell and that I didn't invite you to my wedding and for saying I wanted you out of my life. In the hospital after the accident before you were possessed I-I realized how sorry I was. For everything. Including Dad. And I realized I never got to make amends or tell Dad how..." The younger man paused as his eyes began to water. "How really truly sorry I am and that I love him. And then with you in a coma, I was afraid I was going to lose you too and I wouldn't get the chance to tell you the same. And then that night in the cemetery..." He paused trying to keep himself together. "I watched you die, Dean. I watched you pull the trigger and I watched your body collapse to the ground. I buried your corpse. And mom's."

"About that night," Dean said uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. For everything. Especially for Mom."

"Dean, what happened to Mom, that wasn't you."

Dean shook his head. "Except it was. It was my fingers that snapped her neck. Her blood is on my hands. This guilt...it'll never wash off." He gave a half hearted shrug. "And I'll never forgive myself for it."

"You have nothing to feel guilty about. You didn't kill Mom. Sooner or later, you've gotta accept that. I mean, Mom wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over it. She knew it wasn't you."

The elder Winchester took a large chug of his beer, and then fell silent. His eyes settled on a spot on the floor. Sam sighed heavily.

"I know you don't wanna talk about it, but if you change your mind, I'm here ok? You're not alone Dean." The older brother didn't say anything, just continued to stare down at the floor. The younger added "and no more being a martyr." When there was still no response he tried again. "Dean?" Finally the elder Winchester looked up at his sibling, though immediately wished he hadn't. Sam was never one to mask his emotions and his eyes were the sole provider of them. "Promise me? Please?"

"I'll do what I can," was his response before he took another long drink. Sam sadly shook his head knowing that that was the best answer he was going to get for now.

"So, do you really believe him? The demon, Crowley, I mean?" His voice was small and Dean didn't miss the hint of fear in it.

"I believe we need our winged friend to fill us in," the older brother said neither confirming nor denying.

"Any ideas on how to get him over here?"

"Bobby maybe," Dean shrugged. "The man's got a plethora of books, one of them has to have something about the damn harp players."

"First of all, plethora? Since when do you use words like that?" The younger man asked amused with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean? I know words. What, you think because I didn't go to college I don't know what plethora means?"

"I just...I've never heard you say it. Besides let's be realistic, the only letters you were concerned with were bra cups."

The elder Winchester opened his mouth to protest but upon thinking about what was said, he gave a small nod.

"Fair enough."

"Secondly," Sam went on "I doubt Bobby has any books on angels. I mean he wasn't exactly a believer until Castiel either."

"So, what then? Wait around until he decides to show up?"

"Or " he offered. "Maybe we can pray? I mean, he is an angel after all."

"Trust me, praying doesn't do shit," the older brother replied. Upon seeing the quizzical look on Sam's face and not wanting to give any further explanation, he quickly added "I bet."

"It's worth a shot, right? I mean, it can't hurt."

Dean waved a hand palm up in front of him. "Be my guest."

"You do it."

"What? Oh no no. In case you forgot, I'm not that kinda guy. That's all you prayer boy."

The younger Winchester shook his head. "I've seen the way he looks at me and talks about me. He doesn't like me Dean."

"I get the feeling he doesn't like anyone really."

"He seems to at least tolerate you."

"Gee, thanks."

"Just calling it like I see it." Though he would have liked to argue, his brother had a point. The fact that he repeatedly advised against letting Sam out and talked about him being dangerous was plain proof the celestial being didn't particularly trust his little brother and likely wouldn't even bat an eyelash if he called for him.

"I'm not doing the whole holding my hands and kneeling crap," he said shortly.

"I don't think you have to." Dean threw his brother a disapproving look but cleared his throat, bowed his head, and closed his eyes.

"Castiel. It's me, Dean Winchester. You got your ears on?" The older man didn't have to open his eyes to know that it was now the other brother's turn to give a disapproving look. "We've got questions and we're pretty sure you've got answers. So...Yeah. Get your feathered ass down here and help us out...amen?"

He cracked open his eyes and raised his head where he was greeted, as expected, by a deep frown and a head shake.

"Nice," Sam huffed. Before Dean could defend himself, an unfamiliar voice sounded from the doorway that led from the study/living room to the kitchen. Both men spun around to face the newcomer. A man shorter than both brothers and heavier as well was smiling at them.

"At last," he chimed. Suddenly it wasn't the crocodile smile that made the two uneasy, but the look in his eyes that resembled that of a shark who had just picked up scent of his next meal.

"You aren't Castiel," Dean remarked.

"Observant," the stranger retorted.

"Who the hell are you?"

"The name's Zechariah and I'm here to answer your prayer, Dean Winchester."

 **A/n: Thank you for reading, see you next Wednesday!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/n: Thank you everyone who reads, reviews, follows, and/or favorites this story. Thank you so much hectatess, Souless666, and LilyBolt for your most recent reviews.**

Chapter 15

"Where's Castiel?" Dean demanded.

"Castiel's...busy," Zechariah responded with a smug smile. "Looks like you're stuck with me."

"I'm not telling you squat. I barely know or trust the one angel I've met, you really think I'm going to write Dear Abby to his bald lackey?"

The angel before him shook his head. "Lackey? Oh no no no no, you've got it all backwards Dean. You see I'm not working under Castiel. Far from it. In fact I'm his superior and he's my, as you put it, 'lackey.'" Both Winchesters' eyes widened and Dean gulped. "So you see Dean, anything you want to talk to Castiel about, you can talk to me about. Now, to answer your question, I do have answers."

"We didn't even ask a question yet," Sam pointed out not only reminding Dean that he was still in the room, but grabbing the angel's attention as well. Zechariah turned to face the younger Winchester with his brows knitted making Dean tense.

"Sam, what on Earth are you doing here? You're suppose to be off killing Lilith."

"That's not going to happen," Sam growled through his teeth.

"Wait a second," Dean cut in hoping to pull the eyes of the angel away from his sibling. It worked. "Why would angels be encouraging Sam to kill Lilith? Don't you know what it means if he does?"

"He'll free Lucifer and offer himself to be his vessel so that he may rise again," Zechariah reported as though memorizing a line.

"Why the hell would you want that?" The elder Winchester snapped.

"Castiel said angels were here to stop the apocalypse, not help bring it on!" Sam added.

"We're here to ensure that Paradise is brought." Dean quirked an eyebrow."Lucifer must rise and be connected with his true vessel so that he can go against Michael and his true vessel and then the two will battle it out in the flesh. When we win, and we will win, Michael will triumph over Lucifer, ridding him once and for all and we shall all be rewarded with Paradise."

"Sam isn't going to be Lucifer's anything."

"You're wrong Dean. You're so very wrong. We couldn't find your brother for so long. No signs of where 'the boy with the demon blood' was hiding. But now thanks to you, we've found him. We have the 'Special Child' and the 'Michael Sword' in our grasp. Finally we can get this derailed train back on its tracks again." Zechariah stepped closer to Dean who backed away.

"The 'Michael Sword?'" He repeated.

"Castiel didn't tell you? Sam my be the vessel of the devil, but you are the vessel of our savior, Michael. You say yes to Michael and together you will save the world. Well sort of anyways. Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. What doya say Dean? Wanna save the world and bring on Paradise for all of mankind?"

"Who the hell're you and what the hell're you doing in my house?!" A fourth voice boomed. Both Sam and Dean turned to look at their friend who was now closing the back door behind him as he entered the kitchen.

"So you're the one who's been hiding the Winchesters," the angel greeted causing all three of the men to freeze where they stood.

"Alright scratch the part about who you are, I don't give a shit," the hunter growled, finding his feet again. "Get the hell outta my house!" Sam and Dean both stepped forward and placed a hand on either of Bobby's shoulders trying to stop him.

Before anyone could say or do anything else, there was the sound of giant wings and the trench coated angel appeared. Without a word, he clasped one hand on Sam and the other on Dean. None of the men had time to react before they were whirling through a quick stream of blurred colors.

When they opened their eyes again, they were in unfamiliar territory. Bobby swayed a bit and blinked multiple times. Sam put his arms out to try to catch his balance as he shut his eyes. Next to him, Dean had dropped to the floor on his hands and knees where he hurled. Finally chancing a look, Sam managed to keep his eyes open as he turned to face his brother. Just as he went to ask Dean if he was ok, a seering pain burned inside his side followed by what he could only describe as something sharpe scrapping into his ribs. The sound of his sibling and friend yelling out in pain to match his, told him they were feeling it too. Sam doubled over, putting a hand to his side while Dean who was already on the floor, was now on his back holding his.

"You're safe. For now," confirmed the gravel voice that belonged to the familiar angel.

"What...the fuck...did you...do to...us?" Dean weezed and coughed.

"I brought you to a safe and unknown location and branded your ribs with Enochian sigils."

"You what?!"

"It'll keep you hidden from all celestial beings. Including myself."

With the pain in their ribcages subsiding, all three men removed their hands from their sides and looked at the angel with wide eyes.

"Thanks?"

"You're welcome. I'm sorry I wasn't there to answer you Dean," Castiel's eyes dropped down to the floor and his head bowed a bit.

"I'm just glad you got us away from there before anything bad could happen," Sam said as he gently helped his brother up. He was still shaky but he managed to get to his feet and stay standing.

"Something bad already has happened Sam," Dean snapped.

"You're correct. Unfortunately, now Zechariah knows about that location. That house has been compromised. You two and your friend can no longer stay there."

"You mean, Bobby can't go home?" Sam asked. His features downcast.

"As long as they're looking for you, it's not safe to return."

The younger man turned to look at the hunter apologetically. "I'm so sorry Bobby."

"Never mind that, we've got more important things ta worry about. Like who the hell was that in my house?"

"That was my superior Zechariah," Castiel informed.

"You knew this whole time," The older brother accused. "About me also being an angel condom and Sam and I killing each other or whatever? 'It's Michael's destiny to fight Lucifer and win.' Sound familiar?" Castiel didn't speak, giving Dean an answer none-the-less. "You son of a bitch."

"Dean-" Sam started.

"You knew this whole time and you didn't do anything about it?! Not even a warning?!"

"I couldn't Dean."

"Yes you could have!"

"You don't understand. This is why you and Sam were born."

"Why we were born?!"

"Yes!"

"We weren't 'born' to be some stupid suit for some angels and I sure as hell wasn't 'born' to kill my brother!"

"If this is why we were born, why are you helping us?" Sam questioned trying to take control of the conversation before his brother could turn it into a full fight.

"I..." The celestial being started. Frown lines appeared on his forehead and he looked away. "I don't know," Castiel answered honestly sounding just as surprised at his words as the brothers. "It just doesn't seem right."

"You think?!"

"Well all the same, thank you Castiel," The younger brother smiled. The angel simply nodded to show he understood.

"Thank you? For what?!"

"Dean! He's trying to help, ok? He could have easily left us stuck there with that Zechariah guy, but he didn't."

Dean rolled his eyes. "For all we know he could have told him about us!"

"I didn't."

"Right. And we're suppose to believe you? After you lied to us?!"

"I didn't lie to you." The angel paused and collected himself. "It's probably best that you don't stay in any one place too long. Now that Zechariah knows you're out there, he'll be looking for you. As will the rest of my brothers and sisters. My suggestion is to stay out of sight as much as possible. Try not to draw attention to yourselves." He turned towards the hunter, "as long as you're with them, you're not safe." Sam nodded and his head drooped further.

"In case you hadn't noticed, safety isn't exactly a deal breaker for me," he said. The younger man smiled faintly.

"How will we get a hold of you if we need to?" He asked turning once more to the angel.

"Why would you need to? You have your answers. I've already done more for you than I should have."

"It might be nice to have an angel at least kind of on our side in case we come across any more of yer kind," Bobby answered. It was the youngest Winchester who spoke next.

"Prayer, right?"

"Yeah because he's so good about answering those," the older brother retorted.

"It may not be safe to pray. Others may intercept, like Zechariah did."

"The phone," Sam said more out loud to him than anyone else. "We'll give you our numbers, you can call us if you need to."

"How are we suppose to call him?"

"He'll have to get a phone."

"A phone?" The celestial being and hunter echoed in unison.

"Yeah just go into an electronic store and...on second thought, we should probably do it for you."

"Are you seriously telling an angel to get a cell?" Dean questioned in disbelief.

"Do you have any other ideas Dean?"

He thought about it for a second and then responded "nope."

"Ok then," the younger man sighed heavily with a slight nod "off to the nearest electronic store."

"This is ridiculous," the older brother mumbled under his breath.

"I'll take us," Castiel said starting to reach for the brothers once more.

"Whoa, whoa!" both Winchesters shouted and backed away. The angel stared at them confused.

"Let's just...walk. Ok?"

"That could take awhile," Castiel responded.

"It could yeah. But it's probably not a good idea to just appear in a store. People might see and freak out." The younger brother looked over at his sibling. "And I don't know if Dean's stomach could handle that again at the moment." The celestial being nodded to show he understood. "Alright, we have a plan...sort of."

 **A/n: Thank you for reading. Please feel free to leave comments. See you next Wednesday.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/n: Thank you everyone who reads, reviews, follows and/or favorites. Thank you hectatess and LilyBolt for your recent reviews.**

Chapter 16

"This is stupid," Dean said crossing his arms.

"I heard you the first fifty times Dean," Sam sighed.

"Good, because this is fifty shades of stupid." The brothers were sitting at a small table outside a coffee shop. Having managed to get a phone and at least somewhat explained how it worked with the angel, they were once again left on their own.

Sam rubbed at his temples. "Look, I get that you're mad, alright? I get you don't trust him, but right now he's the closest thing we have to an ally. Besides Bobby. We need someone like him on our side. It's not just demons we have to worry about anymore, it's angels too. So stow you're trust issues."

"And psychotic hunters," Dean added. Sam frowned.

"What?"

"Back when I first got back topside, I hitched a ride. The guy seemed trustworthy at the time. Said he knew Bobby and would take me to him. He lied though. That deranged fucker kept me locked up in a panic room." Dean's voice shrank slightly as he went on to explain. "He came in saying you were a demon that needed to put down and he demanded I tell him where you were. I told him to fuck off and he responded by slicing a piece of me or digging under my nails with a stick or whatever. Good times." When he looked back at his brother, he quickly looked away again; wishing he hadn't said as much as he did about his time with Gordon.

"He...He tortured you? To get to me?" Sam's voice was small and Dean could hear the hurt. As though someone has just slapped him in the face unexpectedly.

"The guy's a few fries short of a Happy Meal Sam," he commented trying to shrug it off. "It's not on you."

"Dean I'm...I'm so sorry. I had no idea...why didn't say something earlier?"

"In case you forgot, we've been a little pre-occupied."

"Yeah no I know, but...still..."

"Two coffees black and I got..." The hunter stopped short when he laid eyes on the Winchester brothers. "What's with the dewy eyes Sam? What'd Dean do now?"

"What did I do?!" Dean repeated taken aback.

"He was tortured...because of me," Sam answered. Dean opened his mouth but shut it again. Bobby sighed sympathetically.

"We got'em back," he reminded the younger man. "That angel Castiel fixed'em up. He's ok now."

"Ok? How's he ok? How is what happened ok?" Sam snapped. "My brother was tortured! I never...Dean I..."

"Sam, I know. Ok? It's fine." The older brother's voice was gentle. "I'm alive and you're alive. That's what matters, alright?" Sam nodded and gulped back the sick feeling that had started in the pit of his stomach and was working its way up to his throat.

"So, what now?" Dean asked wasting no time on changing the subject. "We have no place to stay, no car to drive, and I'm willing to bet between the three of us, not much money. Oh, and literally Heaven and Hell are after us."

"Well, aren't you just a bucket of sunshine and rainbows?" The hunter said eyeing the oldest Winchester.

"Apparently, that's our lives now," he shrugged.

"Believe it or not, it's not as doom and gloom as you're makin' it out to be. Plenty'a hunters live like this." The brothers frowned and Bobby nodded. "Alright first thing's first, Dean you're good with cars. Know how to hot wire?"

"Yeah?" The oldest brother raised an eyebrow. The hunter smiled.

"Good. A least we won't have to start completely from scratch. The trick is to find a car that won't be missed."

"You mean like your Road Runner?" Dean teased. The the older man scowled.

"Say what you want about my car, but just remember you stole it when I had other cars you coulda hot wired, so it can't be that bad." Dean didn't say anything, only threw Bobby an irritated look. "Alright..." The hunter turned his attention towards the nearest parking lot, his eyes brushing over the various cars until he found one. "Silver 1995 Toyota Corolla," he said low enough for the brothers to hear. Both their eyes fell on the mentioned car and Dean made a sound of disgust.

"That hunk of junk?"

"Yep, it's perfect. I'll get us in, you get us going." The older sibling nodded. "And Sam, you watch for anyone." Sam shifted himself nervously.

Without much time wasted, the men worked together getting the car opened and on the road.

"That was awesome!" Dean laughed as his friend took off down the street.

"That was illegal," Sam reminded less than amused. "What happens when the owner puts out an alert on a stolen car?"

"Don't worry son, by the time they start lookin', we'll have already ditched it. The trick is to not drive the same car for too long."

"So we're thieves now. Great."

"We're on the run Sam," Bobby explained peering over at him through the rearview mirror. "We're thieves, liars, and convicts to most. Welcome to the world of bein' a hunter. Never in one place long, always on the road doing what you have to ta get by. I was a lucky one. I had a home and cars. I didn't have to roam like most. But this, this is all part of the gig."

"So we're hunters now?"

"Not quite. First you boys would need training, weapons, knowledge, a suit, and fake IDs."

"Fake IDs?" Sam echoed uncomfortably. "For what?"

"For workin' cases."

"Is that the plan?" Dean interjected. "Become hunters?"

The hunter bit the inside of his lip. "It isn't my plan," he responded solemnly. "I think we should lay low and try to figure out everythin' there is to know but angels. I'm startin' to think it's gonna be good to know how ta stop them at the very least. Not sure if there's a way ta kill'em."

"Good idea," Sam agreed. "It probably would actually be a good idea to know more about...Well, everything," he offered sheepishly. Bobby frowned.

"What're you gettin' at Sam?"

"Look I know it's dangerous and everything, but I mean we don't exactly know what else might be coming for us. It's not like we would have ever guessed angels would be a problem."

"Or real," Dean muttered, Sam ignored him.

"I just think it might be a good idea for us to be prepared. All Dean and I know about are demons and ghosts, but there is so much more out there. Maybe we can even help someone."

"Don't go gettin' ahead of yerself Sam. We need to worry about us right now before we go helpin' others and drawin' attention to ourselves."

"As long as I get to kick something's ass, I'm good," Dean said as the hunter pulled the car up to the curb and rolled to a stop.

"Easy there Rambo," Bobby threw the older brother a look.

"Why are we stopping Bobby?"

"We're calling it a day."

"Ok...So were gonna, what? Sleep on the street?"

"Nope, we're staying right there for the night." The older man pointed to a run down motel further up the road that looked like it may have been a gas station before it was a resting place.

"There?" Sam asked unsure.

"Bobby a place like that, we may as well sleep on the street. It would at least be cleaner." The hunter closed the door to the car and started walking, the boys followed.

"When yer on the run, you can't be picky. Neither one of you have a whole lotta money, I don't have a whole lotta money, so until we can get you some credit cards, this is what we're doing."

"So we're going to steal people's money too?" Sam asked in a disapproving manner.

"Unless you really do wanna live on the streets with no car and no food," he offered.

"Speaking from experience Bobby?" Dean quirked an eyebrow.

"In a matter of speakin'. Though I've never been on Heaven and Hell's most wanted list."

The men reached the motel and after their rooms were paid for, they retired to them. It wasn't exactly late, but Bobby figured the boys could use a break and he could use some time to think of a plan on what there next move was. The inside of the motel room was just as distasteful and welcoming as the outside. The brother's room had two queen sized beds with the ugliest comforter Dean had ever seen. The bathroom was basically a box with a toilet, shower/tub and a sink and just enough room to us it all one person at a time. The older Winchester sighed and after giving the bed closest to the door a good once over, he sat down on it and began to flip through the motel's offered channels. The few that there were. Unsure of what else to do himself, Sam laid down on the bed his brother wasn't occupying. He looked over at his sibling wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say that he thought would actually get him anywhere other than Dean storming off to be left alone.

"What's his name?" He asked catching Dean off guard.

"What?"

"The hunter who tortured you, what's his name?"

"Gordon Walker. Why? You know him?"

"Nope, I just wanted to know the name of the guy that was going to get his ass handed to him if he showed up is all."

"Since when were you an asskicker?" Dean questioned amused by his sibling's threat.

"Since the guy messed with my family."

Dean smiled to himself. "Well if anyone's going to kick that guy's ass, it's me. Payback's a bitch."

Sam didn't say anything, allowing Dean to think that he had the upper hand in the situation. No sense in saying anything more until the occasion called for it. He shifted himself into a more comfortable position and allowed the flashing colors and blur of sounds to lull him to sleep.

 **A/n: Thank you for reading. See you next week.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/n: I'd like start off by apologizing for the early release last week. I had a death in the family and honestly things aren't exactly good for me right now so I've been a complete scatter brain and I thought Tuesday was Wednesday. Thank you everyone for baring with me as well as those who read, review, follow, and/or favorite.**

 **Thank you hactatess, VegasGranny, and LilyBolt for your recent reviews.**

Chapter 17

Even after the hunter had told the Winchesters the truth about monsters, he hadn't wanted them to become hunters. When he had helped them with their ghost problem, he had told himself that they weren't exactly the first. He'd explained to a number of people who had had strange occurrences that ghosts were real. Some believed and helped to the best of their abilities, others wrote him off as a crazy old conspiracy theorist, which didn't make the hunt any easier. Bobby had never thought of the aftermath of those who had been willing to believe. He just assumed they went on with their lives. They were safe and the ghost was taken care of, what else did he need to know? But Sam and Dean had been different somehow. Anyone of those other victims could have gone on to trying their hand at being a hunter, but he'd likely never know. What bothered Bobby the most wasn't that Sam and Dean had wanted to know about the monster world, it didn't even bother him that their mother Mary, who had also been a hunter, didn't want him to help her sons and open up to them about demons; it bothered him that these two boys were now about to take on the life that he himself had warned them about and hoped they wouldn't go down. Helping them deal with a ghost problem was one thing. Helping them with demons was a bigger thing but not the complete end of the world. Though close to it. Having to now not only introduce other monsters than demons and ghosts, the proper weapons, and how to use them; but also fake IDs and the life on the road, that was something he had never intended to have to do.

The Winchesters had been sons to a military man, this helped the hunter in some areas which he supposed he was grateful for. However fighting a monster wasn't the same as shooting at an enemy. You had to know where to aim and with what. They weren't just regular men with skills at combat, knives, and guns, they were full fledged unpredictable predators. It was important that they understood what they were up against and what to expect when dealing with it. Both brothers were at least decent with firearms, and though both weren't terrible in the actual physical department, Sam seemed to excel and even enjoy the academic part of it. Dean always preferred and was eager to go out in the middle of nowhere and work on his fighting skills, whereas Sam was completely content staying in the motel room with his nose in a book. Or several.

It had been only a couple of weeks since the men started their new lives on the road and training, and both brothers had shown progress as well as promise. There was no way he would send them on a hunt alone, they weren't ready for that just yet. But, he may have had them go with him if he himself was going on a hunt. If everything worked out the way the hunter hoped, this would all be in self-defense and not used to go actually work a case. Yes he was training them and educating them, but it didn't mean they had to become hunters themselves, it didn't hurt to be prepared.

XXX

Dean and Bobby had gone on a food run leaving Sam, against their better judgement, in the motel room alone. He'd been starting to act a bit off and both older men were starting to think maybe Sam was coming down with something or on the verge of some kind of breakdown. He seemed jumpy, fidgety, and on high alert what appeared to be out of nowhere for no real reason.

Sam sat on his bed with back up against the headboard, his eyes scanning a book on demons as he did so.

"Hi Baby." He hadn't heard that voice in what felt like years. Sam jumped slightly. His eyes began to water as he stared at the unexpected visitor. The book laid forgotten on his lap. Laying on her side, propping her head up with one hand, was a beautiful blonde with a dark blue eyes. She wore a long white gown and a smile brightened up her face. Sam couldn't help but feel the corners of his own lips lift at the sight.

"Jess," his own voice seemed alien to him. "How are you here? Am I dreaming?"

"Do you normally dream with your eyes open?" She chuckled. "Miss me?"

"Everyday."

She brought the hand that wasn't holding her head up to gently brush away a stray strand of hair that had fallen in Sam's eyes. "Even when you were with the demon?" Sam stiffened and his eyes shone with regret and remorse.

"How do you know?"

"You didn't trust her at first, you kept your guard up emotionally and physically. But that didn't last long. She didn't have to say much other than that she was there for you and that she cared. Your defenses were up a total of...What? three days?"

"Jess I-"

"Three days. She got under your skin and you got in hers three days into knowing her."

"It wasn't-"

"The pure animalistic behavior out of you...I've never seen you so hungry. So full of lust. Not even on our wedding night." The look in his wife's eyes was nothing like he had expected to see. It was as though her own were bright with delight, like what she was saying was exciting her.

"I was in a bad place," he tried to explain. "I had just lost Dean and Mom, I wasn't thinking straight. All that mattered was finding a way to get them back."

"Maybe at first that was 'all that mattered,' but come on Sam. You aren't fooling anyone. You liked it. The way it felt, the way she tasted. Sure it didn't feel right at first, but the moment you felt that power, the moment it touched your tongue and entered inside you, you were hooked."

Sweat was now dripping from him as his breaths came in panicked pants. "I didn't know," he whimpered.

"Yes, you did. That's why you kept doing it. I can see it plain as day. It's written all over that handsome face of yours. You miss it," Jess pressed on pushing herself up to match her husband. Her eyes slowly changed from her own blue to an amber, to a gold, until they were a haunting yellow. Sam scattered from the bed and pressed his now soaked body to the wall.

"No."

"It's ok Sam. It made you happy and strong and that's all I want for you. You can do this Baby, you were born to do this. To be this. And it's ok that you need a little help." She pushed her hair back from her neck to reveal a long cut with blood starting to roll down to her clavical. Jessica crawled from her spot of the bed towards where Sam was. His heart was pounding torn between fear and want as he stared at the blood.

"No, stay back!"

"Come on Sam, just a little taste. You know you want it, just give in to me."

"I said stay back!"

"Sam. Hey! Sammy! Snap out of it!" A hand struck the younger Winchester's face. A few minutes later, he was looking over at a pair of wide green eyes. His breaths were still short as he struggled to get enough air through and he blinked.

"Dean?"

"What the fuck Sam? I've been trying to get through to you for about five minutes. What the hell was that?"

"I-a dream?"

"You weren't asleep."

"I-I don't know."

Dean stared at his sibling, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. "Are you hallucinating?"

"What?"

"I mean no offense dude, but you've had some tweaker action going on lately. Jumpy, twitchy, just kinda...off. Then I come back to the room to see you jumping from the bed and plastering yourself to the wall yelling at no one."

"I just-I thought I saw. Never mind, she's gone."

"She?"

"It-it doesn't matter. I'm fine. I'm uh, I'm gonna shower if that's alright?"

"Good idea, you reek," Dean tried to grin playfully deciding now wasn't the time to fire up his sibling. He'd wait until he had back up and at the moment Bobby wasn't around to help mediate the no doubt unpleasant conversation they would be having and he had no interest in his brother possibly bailing on him. Angels and demons be damned, he knew it wouldn't stop Sam from running off if he felt like he was being ganged up on and he wasn't about to let his brother wander around alone with the monstrous target he had on his head. "Your rabbit food's on the table when you're done."

"Thanks." Sam attempted to grin back, but it quickly faded and he rushed into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him and leaving Dean standing with a confused and worried look on his face.

 **A/n: Thanks for reading. See you next week.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/n: Thank you everyone for being understanding from my previous post. Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, following and/or favoriting. A special thank you to hectatess, VegasGranny, and LilyBolt for your last reviews.**

Chapter 18

"You should've seen him Bobby," Dean said into his phone having stepped out of the room to get both fresh air and privacy. "He was freaking out and yelling at no one."

"Somethin's definitely not right," the older man agreed. "Just not sure what."

"Stress maybe? Or...I don't know."

"Or..." The hunter started.

"What?" The other end of the line was silent for awhile causing Dean to get nervous. "Or what Bobby?"

"We don't know everythin' that went on with him."

His friend's words weren't a comfort and the way he appeared to be beating around the bush about what he was thinking was only making the older Winchester's heart beat faster.

"What're you saying?"

Bobby sighed heavily. "I'm sayin' maybe this is all part of what that angel of yers was goin' on about. Maybe this has to do with him bein' part-"

"Don't," Dean closed his eyes. "Don't say it."

"I know you don't wanna hear it, but it's the only thing I can think of that makes sense. You know damn well this has nothin' to do with stress. That boy's been under more stress than just about anyone, and I can't even imagine what he was goin' through after that night in the cemetery." It was silent again between the two men, only the light breeze that had picked up was heard. "I really hate to say it, but I think there's only two people that may have an idea as to what's causin' yer brother to act like this and one of them isn't a person."

Dean scoffed and shook his head. "Maybe you and Sam trust him but after the shit he pulled, I don't."

"Then I suggest that you talk to Sam."

"Sam isn't going to tell me."

"Well he's gonna know a lot more than anyone else," Bobby countered.

Dean sighed. "Will you talk to him? He gets defensive with me and then we end up at each other's throats."

"You don't have to tell me."

"Exactly!"

A pause and then another sigh from the hunter on the other end of the line, though this time it was a tired sigh. "Alright. I'll finish up here and get back to you boys as soon as I can."

"Thanks Bobby."

"Just try not to kill each other, ok? Or chase yer brother away."

"Right," Dean said in small voice, before hanging up. He didn't move right away, trying to take in more of the fresh air and silence before re-entering.

XXX

Sam had peeled off his long sleeve, and was now pinching the top of his grey t-shirt with his thumb and index finger waving the cotton back and forth fanning himself. His still wet hair clung to his head and his eyes darted around, locking on his brother as he entered.

"A bit young for menopause, aren't you Samantha?" The older Winchester joked.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Sam panted continuing to try to cool himself ignoring his sibling's jab at him.

"Let's see...It's winter, heater's not on, you did just get out of the shower..." Dean listed. He stopped walking, then his eyes lit up as though an idea had come to him and a wicked grin curled his lips. "Maybe you need another hit." Sam's eyes grew wide and he audibly gulped and involuntarily stopped fanning himself.

"What? Dean what're you talking-"

"Give up the act Sam. I know, ok?"

"You-you know? You know what?"

"All about your demon blood cravings. I mean that's why you're all tweaked out, right? You've got an itch you can't scratch." He walked towards his sibling. "A craving you can't kick." Sam didn't say anything, just shook his head causing water droplets to fly from his hair. "Why fight it? Just give in. You know what they say, if your body's craving it, you probably need it. And believe me Sam, you need it."

"Why're you saying this?" The younger man asked nervously taking a step back as Dean stepped closer.

"Family's suppose to support each other, right?" The older Winchester shrugged. "So, I'm supporting my little brother. The stuff makes you strong, makes you feel nice and powerful. I noticed that when you put me in that choke hold without even touching me."

"Dean I told you I'm sorry. I thought you were-"

"A demon, I know. It's ok Sam, I'm not mad. In fact I'm impressed. Never knew you had it in you. No wait, yes I did. From the moment I entered your bloodstream and became part of you." Dean's eyes shone the same inhumane yellow he had seen before. Seeing Jessica with those eyes prior was uncomfortable enough, but to see his brother with the same eyes he'd seen him with before when he'd been possessed by Azeazel, it was more than unsettling. He never wanted to see those eyes ever again and the last person on earth he wanted to see them on, was Dean.

His brother began to approach him, taking one of his fingernails and running it along his wrist where a line of blood grew visible. Sam continued to back away until he bumped the edge of the bed with the back of his leg. His heart was racing and he tried to keep his gaze from lingering on the crimson line on Dean's arm.

"Come on Sam, give in to me."

"Stay the hell away from me!" The older Winchester knocked the younger down and pressed his arm to his face.

"Drink," he demanded. The younger man tried to move his brother's arm and push him away.

"No!"

"Drink!"

Sam's body began to shake uncontrollably. His eyes rolled in the back of his head and the last thing he remembered was the sound of his name being called before everything went black.

XXX

When Sam woke up again, he was confused. He couldn't move his arms and there was an unpleasant taste in his mouth. His eyes darted around and he realized he was laying on the floor between the two queen beds of the motel they were currently staying at. The sudden movement of him struggling to raise himself caught the attention of the other two men who had been in the room and they both rushed over to Sam.

"Finally," the hunter said, removing what Sam could now see was a belt from his mouth. "Are you alright Sam?"

Sam ran his tongue around his teeth trying to get the taste of leather out of his mouth before he looked first at his friend and then his brother who he noticed had a much different look on his face than the concerned hunter and was keeping his distance.

"Wh-what happened?" The younger Winchester asked as Bobby helped him slowly into sitting position.

"You tell us. Yer brother came into the room and found you seizurin' on the floor. What's goin' on Sam?"

Sam blinked a few times, his mouth open slightly and fear and confusion evident in his eyes.

"I-I don't know."

"That's the second time yer brother has found you actin' strange in the last few hours. I'm not tryin' to hound ya, but somethin' ain't right." Sam opened his mouth to respond, but instead of words, there was a knock. Everyone turned to look at the motel door, but it was Dean who moved to answer it. He looked out the peephole and then huffed and threw it open.

"It's about damn time," he snapped as the trench coated angel stepped inside. "I called you an hour ago."

Castiel turned and gave Dean a look that Sam knew only too well, having the same reaction whenever his brother would get on him like he had the celestial being. "It's not always that easy Dean," he shot back. "And in case you hadn't noticed, you aren't the only ones that are in trouble here."

"What's going on?" Sam cut in. "Why's he here?" He looked with a furrowed brow from the hunter to his brother who in return exchanged glances that gave Sam a clue as to what the answer was.

"Like Bobby said, something's not right. Feathers here is gonna diagnose you and give us the answers we aren't getting out of you," the older Winchester answered crossing his arms. The angel approached the younger brother, placed an outstretched hand on his head, and closed his eyes. The hunter and the older sibling looked between Sam and Castiel for any reaction from either. Sam only continued to frown while the angel seemed concentrated on whatever it was he was doing until he opened them again and removed his hand, letting his arm rest at his side. "Well?" Dean asked breaking the silence.

"When was the last time you ingested demon blood?" Castiel questioned the younger Winchester, his blue eyes locked onto him. Sam shifted the best he could with his hands still cuffed behind his back.

"The day Dean showed up in Kansas," he mumbled. Dean tried to prevent himself from from showing any emotion.

"When did the hallucinations start?"

"I never said anything about hallucinations," he said nervously.

"You didn't have to," The older brother commented. Sam looked over at Dean then down at the floor and then back at Castiel.

"A couple of days ago."

"A couple of days?" Dean repeated in disbelief. "You mean today wasn't the first time?" The younger man slowly shook his head.

"Are you plannin' on sharin' what you know with the rest of us?" The hunter asked the angel.

"Demon blood has an affect on Lucifer's vessels and is highly addictive to them. Once they've had it regularly, it isn't easy for them to stop it completely and altogether. The best way I can word it so that you'll understand is that Sam is going through withdrawals."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Dean said incredulously.

"I'm not kidding you," the angel replied monotone.

"Great, that's just fan-fucking-tastic," he slapped his arms to his side in defeat. "What the hell are we suppose to do?"

"What happens if he continues cold turkey?" The hunter inquired. The celestial being raised an eyebrow. "What if he continues to not drink any?"

"I'm not certain of the exact outcome, but it's likely not going to end well for him. I imagine his thirst for it will increase and he may get violent. It is possible that without it eventually his body will give out."

"You mean to tell me that if he stops drinking demon blood he can die?!" Dean shouted. "He wasn't always a bloodsucker, he was fine before he started drinking that crap."

"Right here guys," Sam chimed in annoyed at the lack inclusion. Dean continued on as though his sibling hadn't said anything.

"My brother isn't getting anymore of that shit and he's going to be just fine."

"I'm sure it would make you happy to see it that way Dean, but I'm not certain he will be."

"I'm not giving my brother demon blood!" The older Winchester roared. He looked at Castiel and then Bobby and shook his head sadly. "I won't let Sammy become a monster. I won't. I can't."

Sam nodded his head as tears blurred his vision.

"Then you run the risk of losing him," the angel answered.

"There's gotta be somethin' you can do," the hunter said. "You're an angel for God sakes. Can't you just heal him or somethin'?"

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple."

"What exactly are angel's good for? Huh?" Dean rounded on the celestial being once again. "You don't care about what happens to us humans, you can't fix my brother, you're literally here to help free the Devil and end the fucking world...I liked it better when I didn't know you existed. I thought demons were bad, at least we know where they stand. In fact I'm starting to think they're more honest then you guys are."

"I've done more for you than I should have already," Castiel shot back. "I don't think you realize the kind of trouble I've gotten myself into once they find out why they can't find you again. Don't make me regret my decision to go against my own family and everything God put in motion centuries ago to help you three," he warned. "You do what you want with Sam, but I am not your dog. You can't call on me when you need something and expect me to have an easy result for you." With one last threatening glance at all three of the men, there was a sound of wings and the trench coated angel was gone.

 **A/n: Thank you for reading. See you next week.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/n: I'm so sorry for the late post. I slept in way more than I meant to. Anyways thank you so much for reading, reviewing, following and/or favoriting. Thank you so much to VegasGranny, hectatess, and LilyBolt for your reviews. You guys are awesome and appreciate your thoughts and time.**

Chapter 19

Dean paced back and forth running a shaking hand down his face before stopping at the small motel dresser and swiping at a nearby lamp. It flew from its spot and landed with a crash onto the floor causing Sam to jump and Bobby to scowl. "Fucking angels!" The older Winchester yelled.

"Dean, calm down," Bobby said sternly.

"Calm down? That winged dick tells me my brother is either going to die or turn into a demon and you're telling me to calm down?!"

"Yellin' and takin' it out on the room isn't gonna help either!"

"I did not come back from the dead to watch my brother die or turn into a God damn blood sucking monster!"

"Wow Dean," Sam's voice shook but stayed strong. "Tell us what you really think." Dean looked over at his brother for the first time since the angel had arrived. Sam's hazel eyes shone with hurt and anger, causing the older Winchester to take a deep breath and try to collect himself. "Bobby if it's all the same to you, I'd really like to get out of these cuffs please," The younger man replied in a smaller voice. The hunter hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

"I'm sorry Sam, but I can't risk you runnin' off."

"So you don't trust me either?" Sam asked angrily.

"I just wanna make sure you don't-"

"Don't what? Huh Bobby?I don't go run off and find a demon and drink its blood?!"

"Get yerself hurt or killed," the hunter answered.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Right, that's what you were going to say. You think I don't know? You think I'm blind? You're afraid of me, both of you are. I've noticed it since the moment you locked me up in the panic room back at your house."

"Can you blame us?" Dean asked. "I mean when I found you back at home you were apparently sucking blood and you nearly killed me."

Sam tilted his head and rolled his shoulders. "I already said I was sorry Dean. I'm not going to explain myself again. Either accept that I didn't know it was you or don't, but stop bringing it up! It's like my fucking wedding all over again. Move past it Dean, because the next time I hear you bring up that, or Dad, or that incident back in Kansas, it's going to be the last."

Dean exhaled out his nose and stared at his brother in disbelief. "Is that a threat?" He questioned.

"It's a fucking promise," Sam shot back, his tone equally as dangerous as his sibling's. "I'm dead serious. The next time you bring any of that shit up again, I'm packing my crap, and I'm leaving. And I'm not coming back. I'm done being patronized by you for past mistakes, Dean. I'm sick of you criticizing everything I do, and quit looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like at any second I'm going to attack or run off. And don't say you're not, I see it in your eyes every time you look at me Dean. You think I'm some kind of freak." The anger left his voice and Dean noticed how it seemed to shrink when he said the word "freak." His brother's eyes grew glossy once again and he quickly averted his gaze from him to a spot on the floor.

"I'm not criticizing," The older sibling responded gently. "And I don't think you're a freak."

"Oh really?" Sam scoffed.

"Yeah really! You wanna know the truth? The truth is I'm scared, Sam. Alright? I'm scared about everything going on right now and I'm terrified of what's going to happen to you." The room was silent for the first time since Sam came to. Neither Winchester knew what to say and a million thoughts and feelings rushed through both of them. Dean was the first to break the silence. He spoke softly and with a confidence he didn't have before. "You're my brother, Sammy. And you're the only blood I've got left. I can't lose you." He shook his head and swallowed at a lump that had gathered in his throat. "And I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, ok? Come Hell or high water, you're going to make it out of this-this demon blood thing and-and apocalypse mess just fine. I'm gonna make damn sure of it, no matter what anyone says. That's a promise."

"We," Sam corrected.

"We?"

"We are going to make it out of this. Not just me. I'm not going unless you're coming with me Dean. I'm not going to be the last Winchester again. So, we are going to make it out of all this crap together and we are going to be fine. That goes for you too Bobby. You're a Winchester as far as we're concerned." The hunter smiled at the younger man.

"Don't worry boys, I'm not goin' anywhere," he promised.

"Alright, what's our next move?" Dean asked, hope restored within him.

"We figure out a thing or two about angels, and then we tackle findin' a way to stop Armageddon and save the world without gettin' spotted by angels or demons. Should be easy." Both brothers chuckled at their friend who grinned in return. The moment was interrupted by the sound of a generic phone ringing. The hunter pulled his cell from his pocket, rolled his eyes, and answered it.

"I'm busy you son of a bitch," he barked into it. Sam and Dean exchanged glances.

"Well excuse me for interruptin' Sunshine, but I've got something here that I think might interest you," the voice on the other line responded just as ornery as Bobby had.

"Well? I haven't got all day."

"Can't talk over the phone. Harvelle and I are headed your way as we speak."

"Don't bother, I'm not home."

"Well then where the hell are you Bobby? You aren't the only one who's busy you know?" The man snapped.

"Motel called Red Bird Inn in Boulder Colorado room 401."

"Colorado? Man what the hell are you doing in Colorado?"

"Vacationin'," The hunter replied sarcastically.

The other line answered first with a rude sound that told them that he knew otherwise and then he added, "we'll be there as soon as we can. Don't you go disappearing on me now Bobby."

"Just shut the hell up and hurry your ass over here would ya?"

"Yes Dear."

The hunter pressed harder on the button that disconnected the call than necessary, grumbled what sounded like an insult under his breath, and looked up to see two pairs of eyes watching him.

"A friend of yours?" Dean questioned.

"Depends on the day," Bobby responded shortly.

"Is everything ok Bobby?" Sam asked.

"As far as I can tell. That son of a bitch Rufus is always callin' me for shit."

"It sounded kind of important."

"Everythin' does with him. It's how he gets ya involved."

"So? Now we wait?"

Bobby nodded. "I guess. This...whatever he's bringin' better be worth our time."

"So, how long are you planning on keeping me locked up this time?" Sam questioned trying to sound more quizzical than frustrated. The hunter looked over at the older Winchester who shrugged back.

"You promise you're not gonna take off?"'he asked. Sam's hazel eyes locked onto his friend's dark blue.

"I promise."

"If you feel like somethin' ain't right, you'll say somethin' to me or yer brother?"

"Yes."

The hunter hesitated a moment before pulling a key from his pocket and releasing Sam's wrists from their metal bond. He rubbed his right wrist first than his left. Sam pulled himself up from the ground so that he was standing and without warning, he made his way quickly over to Dean. The older Winchester tensed for a moment and then found himself wrapped in his sibling's arms, shifting his stance so that his brother's added weight didn't topple him over, Dean blinked a few times and then returned the gesture.

"Should I be checking for signs of possession?" He could hear Sam chuckle and sniff and when he pulled away, there were fresh tears in his eyes.

"I've been wanting to do that since I found out it was really you," he confessed sheepishly, his voice filled with as much emotion as what shone in his eyes. "I know we don't always get along but it just...It wasn't the same without you Dean." The older brother felt a grin spread across his lips.

"Damn straight it wasn't," he teased. Sam laughed and wiped at the tears that were rolling off his cheeks.

"Right, now that that's over," Bobby said walking over to the small plastic table where he picked up a couple of books. "Who's up for some research?"

 **A/n: Thank you for reading. See you next week.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/n: Anyways thank you so much for reading, reviewing, following and/or favoriting. Thank you so much to ayosb2000 VegasGranny, hectatess, and LilyBolt for your reviews. You guys are awesome and appreciate your thoughts and time.**

Chapter 20

"Why is this on us?" Dean asked looking away from the book that had been holding his attention off and on for a few hours. Sam who had been sitting across from him with his right elbow resting on the table while his head rested in his hand and his own eyes fixed on a different book in front of him, looked over at his sibling.

"What do you mean?" The room had been mostly quiet, with the exception of the sound of pages turning and occasional sound of someone adjusting themselves, the book, or clearing their throat.

"I mean why do we have to be the ones that save the world? Why can't someone else do it? Why do we have to be the heroes?"

"Because we're the only ones who know about it," Sam offered. "Because you're the 'Michael Sword' and I'm the...the true vessel of Lucifer and we are the ones that will be used to bring on the apocalypse if we don't." Dean cringed at the word's "Michael Sword" and "Lucifer," but nodded in response.

"Fair enough. Except for it's not fair at all." Sam scoffed and looked back down at the pages before him. "I mean what did we do to deserve this?" It hadn't been his brother's words that brought his eyes to fall back on him, but his tone.

"We didn't do anything," the younger man answered gently.

"No we had to have done something. What? Is it because I'm not a believer of the Big G? Is it because of the past? Because of Mom's past?"

"None of that has to do with it Dean. We just, I don't know, got delt a shitty hand."

The older Winchester nodded in a way that told Sam he was both angry and sad. "This is exactly why I don't believe. If 'God' is really out there, then he's the biggest dick ever. How could he let the world go literally to Hell, and do nothing? I mean if he's the 'Almighty', why doesn't he put an end to all this? Why is the world the way it is? Murder, monsters, destruction, betrayal, why?"

Sam's eyes lowered and he shook his head, with a sigh he answered "I don't know, Dean."

"Well, why do you believe?"

Sam swallowed and took an inaudible breath. "Because...I have to." The older sibling opened his mouth but realization set in and he closed it again.

"You don't deserve all this shit Sammy," Dean said breaking the silence once again. "You're a raging pain in the ass sometimes, but you don't deserve any of this."

Sam lowered his arm and raised his head. "No one deserves it Dean. That's not what this is about. It has nothing to do with it. It's just the way that it is, you know? We just have to, I don't know, make the best of it."

"Hot damn," Bobby's voice sounded reminding both Winchesters they weren't alone.

"You got something Bobby?" Sam asked hopefully.

"A few things actually. First and foremost, I now know what can kill an angel."

"Which is?" Dean asked.

"An angel blade, used by another angel."

"So only angels can kill angels?" The older brother asked for clarification. The hunter nodded. "Great."

"But we can do somethin'," Bobby added placing the book down on the table so both Sam and Dean could see what he had found. "You draw one of these usin' blood and it'll zap'em back to Heaven."

"An angelic bug zapper," the older Winchester commented. "That's pretty useful."

"It's not so much a bug zapper as an angelic time out," Bobby explained. "But it'll give us time to run."

"At least someone out there knew about angels," Sam said.

"And that's not all," the hunter turned the page. "There's depowering spells, angel proofing, and trapping."

"Well," Dean smiled. "Merry Christmas to us."

"It's definitely a start," Bobby agreed. "But so far I think most if not all of this only works on angels like Zechariah and Castiel, not archangels like Michael and Lucifer."

"Still useful," Dean replied. Sam throw his brother a look of disapproval.

"Castiel isn't bad Dean. He's helped us a couple of times now."

"Doesn't mean I can't be prepared," his brother countered. When Sam continued to scowl at him, he went on. "We don't know exactly how helpful he's actually been or is being. He can't even tell us why he's 'helping' us. What's stopping him from changing his mind again?"

"Not every supernatural being is evil," the younger sibling said.

"Oh yeah? How would you know?" Sam looked at Dean sadly. "You don't-you aren't a supernatural thing Sam. Ok?"

"No? So me being part demon doesn't make me a 'thing?'" The older Winchester shook his head and scrubbed a hand over his face.

"That's different."

"How?" Dean shook his head and looked back down at the book in front of him. "No, really. How is that different?" Sam demanded trying to get his brother's attention back. Dean gave in and looked back at Sam with a serious expression.

"Because you're human."

"I'm a 'blood sucker', remember?"

"Oh come on Sam," the older sibling rolled his eyes frustrated.

"Hey, you said it," Sam countered.

"Boys," Bobby interjected before another fight could break out. "We're gettin' sidetracked here."

"Right." Dean pushed himself from the table and got to his feet. Without another glance, he started off towards the motel room door.

"Dean, where are you going?" The younger man gave an exasperated sigh.

"I need a break." Dean closed the door behind him leaving the hunter and his brother staring after him.

XXX

The following day consisted of more reading on Sam and Bobby's part, and flipping through the channels on Dean's. He hadn't said much to either of them since he had returned to the motel room yesterday and having found out some information on angels, he didn't see much reason as to why he should have to keep reading. They got lucky that they found a book on angels, but he knew there was no chance that they would get even luckier and find anything about how to stop the ending of the world or how to deal with a brother being part demon. He glanced in Sam's direction a few times, checking to see if he looked like he was going to have another episode. He caught him pinching his shirt and fanning it a few times, but other than that, he seemed normal.

He was just about to flip through the few offered channels for what had to have been the two hundredth time, when a loud knock brought all eyes in the room to fall on the door. Bobby was up before Dean and made his way over to it. He peered through the peephole and then threw open the door. A man who looked about the same age as Bobby, give or take a few years, and a young blonde stood looking just as exhausted as they were.

"Well it's about time," the hunter snapped at the other man as they entered the room. Bobby quickly closed and locked the door behind them.

"Wisconsin Bobby," retorted the man who both brothers now assumed had been the man that had been on the other line yesterday. "Had you been home like you should be, we coulda already have done this hours ago yesterday."

"Jo," the hunter acknowledged with a curt nod "good to see ya." The girl hadn't heard the greeting however, her eyes had been glued to Dean who was staring back in return.

"Can I help you Sweetheart?" He asked her.

"You...how?" Her dark eyes moved from the older Winchester to Bobby looking for an explanation.

"Make yerselves at home," the hunter beckoned.

"Would that we could Bobby, but this ain't a social call," the man said.

"Rufus, the day you stop by for a social call will be the day farm animals sprout wings."

"Chickens have wings," Rufus countered.

"What was so important you had to come anyways?" Bobby asked ignoring the other man's words.

"Yeah yeah, alright." He opened his jacket and removed what looked like an old large piece of cloth from it. Jo had returned her gaze to Dean who was eyeing her back part suspicious part interested.

"Dean, Sam, this is Rufus and you remember Jo."

It was as if hearing the other Winchester brother's name had made him appear to the young woman. Immediately her attention snapped from Dean to Sam and fire rose within her dark eyes. She quickly made her way towards the younger brother, her hand reaching back to the waistband of her jeans. Dean caught a glimpse of what was unmistakably a handgun and jumped to his feet. She almost had it out completely before he managed to grab the arm that contained the weapon, and yanked it down.

"What the hell?" He growled.

"Jo," Bobby came over towards her. Sam sat looking startled at the scene before him.

"Get off me!" She yelled trying to pull her arm free of Dean's grip, he held on tighter.

"You were about to pull a gun on my brother, you really think I'm gonna just let you go?"

"You're brother is the reason my mom and dad are dead!" Her eyes began to water but the fire never left them as she spat her words like venom at Sam. The younger Winchester's eyes grew sympathetic and his brow furrowed.

"What?" His voice was small and his hazel gaze moved to his friend for clarification.

"Jo, it wasn't Sam's fault," the hunter spoke calmly.

"Bullshit Bobby!" Her eyes never left Sam. "If he'd never showed up at the Roadhouse, I'd still have them!"

"Ellen and Bill are dead?" Sam questioned still in a small voice.

"What do you care?" She scoffed. "You got what you wanted."

"What? I never wanted-"

"And you," she turned to Dean. "I thought you were dead."

"Excuse me?"

"You lied to me Bobby?"

"Jo, calm down and let me explain. Dean, let her go. She won't hurt Sam, I promise," the hunter instructed. "Don't be so sure," she hissed. The two continued to stare at one another a bit longer before the older brother gave her one last warning look and reluctantly released the young woman's arm.

"First of all, Sam didn't have any part of that, you know that. Yer folks knew there was a possibility they weren't gonna return when they agreed to help go up against demons. Secondly, you're not the only one who lost family that night. Both Mary and Dean didn't make it either." Dean bowed his head at the memory while Sam's eyes shone. Jo looked over at the older brother again.

"He looks fine to me," she replied shortly.

"That's a whole other story that's none of your business."

"Dean," Sam said disapproval in his tone, but Dean kept his eyes fixed on the young woman.

"Fuck you. My family went out of their way to help you and your brother and now they're gone and here you are alive after I was told you were dead. I think I'm owed an explanation." It was silent for awhile before he answered.

"Look, I honestly don't even know who you are, but I wasn't me back then." His tone was less hostile. "I was possessed." The flame in her eyes went out but she continued to keep a serious expression. "I uh, I managed to break its hold on me, but not in time. I killed my mom," his voice shook. His name being said was only audible due to the silence that had fallen over the room. He ignored it once again. "Then I regained myself again and shot the bastard killing him along with me." Jo was no longer able to look into the older Winchester's eyes and instead brought them down to the floor. "I don't remember you or your parents and I don't know what part they played that night, but I know what it feels like to lose family. I'm sorry." All eyes were on Dean and Jo as they stood with her eyes on the floor and his on her.

"I hate to break up this sharing and caring moment, but we're on a time crunch here," Rufus said breaking the silence and unwrapping the cloth and placing it on the table on top of the book Sam had been reading before they had arrived. Everyone's attention shifted to the reveal of what had brought the two to their motel room in the first place. With the fabric removed, a stone slab now sat with etched markings all over it.

"What is it?" Dean asked walking over to get a closer look. Sam stared at it with eyes wide.

"It looks like some kinda tablet," Bobby commented looking over it.

"Uh huh. I'll leave this in your capable hands then Bobby," Rufus responded clapping the other man on the shoulder and turning to leave. "Call me when you've got something."

"You're just gonna drop off and ditch this thing on me?"

"Pretty much."

"Gee, thanks."

"You're the research and read guy," Rufus said with a shrug.

"Research and read? Rufus, I can't read squat on this thing."

"You'll figure it out. I'd do it soon too if I was you, I'm not entirely sure we weren't followed."

"Thanks a lot you son of a bitch," Bobby snapped.

"Anytime. You comin' Harvelle?" He looked over at the young blonde who tucked her gun back into her waistband again and with one last look she and Rufus were gone, leaving Bobby, Sam, and Dean to stare puzzled at the object before them.

 **A/n: Thank you for reading.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/n: Alright everyone. I'm really sorry to say this, but I've caught up with myself. I'm not going to go into detail, but I'm kinda going through some things right now which have made it harder for me to write as well as I've had a hard time lately being able to get myself wanting to do so. I still plan on finishing this story, I just don't know when that will be. Probably when the things calm down and become a bit more certain for me. I appreciate your patience and time and again, I'm really sorry about the break.**

 **Thank you so much VegasGranny, Souless666, hectatess, and LilyBolt for all your recent reviews, your time, and just for always/pretty much always leaving me your thoughts. I know I didn't get back to you like I usually do and I am sorry but I just wanted to let you guys know how much I truly am grateful to you guys.**

Chapter 21

"You really think someone was tailing Smiley and that chick?" Dean asked as the hunter checked the rearview mirror of the black Honda he was driving for the fifth time since they had left.

"I'm not about to take any chances," he answered.

"And you really have no idea what that hunk of rock is?" The older Winchester brother quirked an eyebrow.

"Do I look like a supernatural encyclopedia to you?" The older man snapped.

"Looks can be deceiving," Dean shrugged. Bobby relaxed a little but kept his expression serious.

"I've never seen anything like it. Words or tablet. Luckily for us, I happen to know a guy who might be able to help. "

"Is he as cheerful as the last guy you know?" The hunter bobbed his head around as if weighing the answer. "That's comforting." Dean twisted in his seat to look at his brother who was sitting behind the passenger side in a position that reminded him of how he use to sit when he wasn't feeling well as a kid. It was as though he was trying to make himself as small as possible without actually curling into himself. It was too dark to tell but he remembered his sibling looked a little flushed when they were packing up to leave the motel. " How're you holding up back there? "

"I'm fine." His voice was small but Dean didn't want to take the chance of upsetting him, so he turned himself back around and nodded. "So, who was that girl back there?" The car fell silent long enough for the older Winchester brother to think maybe he hadn't been heard, but finally the hunter spoke.

"Jo Harvelle was the only kid of Ellen and Bill Harvelle. They were some of the best hunters I've known. Strong, loyal, always ready to back ya or house ya if you needed a place. I stumbled upon'em after a bad run in with a rougarou."

"A who-ga-what?"

"A rougarou. They feed off the flesh of humans. Anyways, I just so happen to stop into the Roadhouse fer a pick me up and I met the Harvelles. They actually were the ones that told me how to kill those suckers and that they can pass on the disease to their offspring."

"And are they really dead?"

Bobby sighed sadly. "As far as we know. The last I saw them they were headin' back to Jo and the Roadhouse. Sam's friends were with them."

"You mean...Valerie and Mrs. Flores...they're dead too?" Sam questioned. The hunter looked back in the rearview mirror but this time it wasn't to check and see if anyone was following him.

"I'm real sorry Sam." Even in the dark Bobby could tell the younger man's head lowered a bit.

"Any ideas of what happened?" Dean asked softly. He remembered the Flores women. Sam had been working for Mrs. Flores while he was in college. She seemed like a strong yet kind woman, as did her daughter Valerie who Dean also remembered had a large crush on his little brother.

"Only thing I can think of is that a demon got to them. I mean, there were at least a couple thousand that more'n likely were let loose that night. And I'm low ballin'."

"But you don't know for sure if they died right?" Though the hunter wanted to be honest, he could hear the pleading in Dean's tone that was asking for the hunter to go along with it.

"There's no real evidence one way or another, so yeah, it's possible they're alive."

A few hours went by and it was spent in silence for the most part. It wasn't until Bobby had stopped for gas and they were on their way again travelling the dark back roads, that once again the older Winchester spoke up. Dean glanced at the backseat where his brother was, soft snores escaped him confirming the older sibling's inquiries. "I'm really scared Bobby," he admitted. The hunter waited for him to clarify, though he was pretty sure he knew what the younger man had meant. "What if Castiel's right? What if Sam really is going to die without demon blood?"

"We'll figure it out when and if the time comes," his friend offered gently.

" I just...I don't understand how it even works. I mean, how can my brother be a demon just by having some blood of a demon in his system? Is it because he was a baby? Was that demon even more powerful than we thought? Why Sam? Why not me? I'm the first born, isn't it suppose to be the first born that's cursed?"

"Kid, I wish I knew."

"I wish I knew what happened after that night. Sam's been as vague as humanly possible about it. Something's not right."

Before either one of them could say another word, Dean felt a hand grasp him by the arm followed by his name. He once again twisted to look back at his brother. The sound of his sibling getting violently ill caused Dean to quickly unhook his seatbelt so that he could face Sam directly.

"Sammy?! Pull over Bobby!" The hunter was already in the process of moving to the side of the road before the words left the older Winchester's mouth. Dean threw open the passenger side door at the same time his sibling hurriedly swings his door open. He continued to hurl, his hand that was holding the door still shook with every heave. Bobby rushed around the side to him. Finally Sam stopped. Dean rushed to him, trying his best to avoid the puddle of vomit as he did so. Sam wiped a shaking hand across his lower lip and chin and his sibling placed both hands on his shoulders as if to steady him and keep him from falling out of the car.

"You ok Sammy?" The older Winchester brother stared at him with his green eyes full of worry. Sam shook his head. He was still trying to catch his breath. Dean could still feel him shaking uncontrollably.

"I think it may be best if we find a place to crash for the time bein'," Bobby replied. "We'll stay at the next place we find. I'll work on gettin' back to the main highway. Think you'll be alright to get on the road again? Be honest, we can wait. Take yer time."

" I'm...I'm good, " Sam answered in voice that shook as much as his body. Dean helped him get re-situated, then went around the the other side where Sam had first gotten sick. He took off his jacket and then his overshirt and tried to wipe and soak up as much of it as possible. Tossing the now soiled article of clothing off to the side of the road and then climbing in to sit with his little brother in the back. With everyone buckled, the hunter was off.

"Tell me if you need me to pull over again," he said.

Sam had grabbed Dean's attention another three times to puke before they reached a dingy motel to rest for the night. Bobby had been fortunate enough to get two rooms close to each other so he wouldn't be far if they needed him. Dean spent a good amount of time that night between a few minutes of sleep and standing nearby Sam as he puked violently into the motel toilet.

He didn't have to ask him what had happened, he had a pretty good idea of that himself and it wasn't food poisoning. It seemed only too coincidental that Sam had gotten so terribly sick after they had been warned of his withdrawals from the demon blood, and Dean was becoming less and less a believer in coincidences as his knowledge of the supernatural increased.

 **A/n: Thank you all so much for reading and for any reviews. I promise I'll try to not have the break be too long**.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/n: Hey everyone! I just want to say thank you so much for those who have sent me support and for your understanding. I would love to say I'm back in action, but honestly I'm not. However I do have the next chapter done and I wanted to show those of you who have been following that I haven't forgotten about this story. If something was to happen that made it so that I wasn't able to finish, I promise I will let you know. I won't just disappear on you.**

 **Thank you so so very much Souless666, hectatess, VegasGranny, and of course LilyBolt for your reviews, support, and patience. Seriously, I really appreciate it so much.**

 **Please feel free to comment, favorite, and it follow this story.**

Chapter 22

"Something's not right," Dean commented as he accepted his order of two coffees and a croissant from the barista.

"You keep sayin' that, " Bobby said as he was handed his own coffee.

"Because it's true! It makes no sense for him to be like this Bobby."

"Well Castiel did say that he was gonna be gonin' through withdrawals. It's like detox Dean, you ever see someone go through the stages of comin' off somethin' like heroine?"

"No," the younger man admitted as they began their walk back the motel.

"It ain't pretty, trust me."

Dean rolled his eyes in frustration. "But Sam isn't coming off of a drug addiction. It's demon blood. We don't have any idea about what to expect or-or what to do that can help or when it's over or even if he's going to be ok."

The hunter stopped causing the older Winchester brother to cease his steps as well. "Look, I know you're scared Dean, I know that this is less than ideal for both of you boys; but you gettin' all worked up for the hundredth time isn't gonna do you or yer brother any good. Just try to relax, don't lose yer head, and remember that you two aren't alone. We'll figure this out, alright?" Dean didn't trust his words to come out without shaking so he settled for nodding at his friend to show he understood.

The coffee shop was conveniently located a little less than a block from the current motel they were staying at. Dean had been torn between staying with Sam, who had finally stopped puking and had fallen asleep, and going with their friend. Part of Dean, a big part of him, had wanted to stay just in case, but Bobby had convinced him a walk would do him good. Followed by sleep since the purple bags under the young man's eyes told the hunter Sam wasn't the only one who didn't get much of it.

The two quietly let themselves into the brothers' room. Dean was relieved to see Sam still laying sound asleep in his bed and not missing or locked away in the bathroom. The younger Winchester slept like that for awhile longer before waking with a start.

"D'n?" He squinted in his brother's direction.

" Well that's progress, he kept calling me Jess last night, " the older brother said under his breath so only Bobby could hear. He cleared his throat and spoke louder, "how're you feeling?"

" I'm...I'm alright. I mean I've been better, but all things considered."

"Got you a cup of joe and a...whatever this is," Dean said holding up Sam's coffee in one hand and the bag that held the croissant in the other.

"It's a croissant," Bobby informed. "How can you order things that you don't even know what they are?"

" I know what it is, ok? " The older sibling said defensively.

The younger Winchester's face twisted as though he'd just been shown something unpleasant.

"I'm good, thanks."

"You sure? It's good."

"Since when have ever eaten a croissant?" Sam scoffed. Dean opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"Well, I mean it's good for you."

"No it isn't. It's full of carbs."

"Oh right, you know I often times forget that I have a little sister," he retorted. Sam just sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, you can't possibly have anything left in your stomach after last night. Just...humor me. Please?" Dean stared at his sibling, still holding the bag and coffee in his hands. After a moment of remaining where he was, Sam got to his feet and snatched them up from his brother. "Great. So now that Sammy is awake and getting fueled up, what's the plan?" Dean questioned turning back to the hunter.

"Well, if I'm bein' honest here, I'm not too sure. Sam's condition is a pressin' matter at the moment, but we still have that hunk of rubble that Rufus brought to us and we don't know how crucial that thing is or what it even is. I don't think it'll help us with the situation at hand but with the angels tryin' to bring on Armageddon, who's to say this doesn't have somethin' to do with that. I was hopin' we'd already be at Frank's by now, but we're not even halfway -"

The hunter was cut off at the sound of liquid squirting. Both Bobby and Dean looked over to see coffee dripping from Sam's chin and all over the back of his hand. "Sorry," he said quickly grabbing some napkins from the paper bag and wiping himself down.

"You alright?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dean and Bobby watched him a bit longer before the hunter spoke again.

"Personally I don't like the idea of dragging Sam around, and frankly the both of you could use rest."

"But we don't have time," Sam said. "We don't know what the angels are going to do. All we do know is that they need us and they're going to be out looking for us. We've only met two and if they hadn't introduced themselves as such, we would have never known. "

"Sam's got a point." The older man turned to look at Dean. "For all we know that barista you were chatting up this morning could have been an angel."

"Right," Sam responded before his brother could comment. "But at the same time, I don't want to just sit here and do nothing. I saw a bookstore when we were driving in last night, I was thinking of hitting it up for any information on anything that may help. I know it's a stretch, but at least it's something I can do and you don't have to worry about dragging me anywhere."

"Great. Bobby will meet up with his friend and we'll hit the books," Dean replied.

"Bobby needs you more than I do. Besides, you hate reading."

"Bobby can handle himself, right Bobby?"

"Maybe we don't have to drive all the way to Frank's after all. You boys go ahead and look into the hunk of rock and see if you can find out anything about it. Don't be too disappointed if you don't find anything though. And don't show anyone the source material. Got it?" Sam snapped a few pictures of the tablet with his phone.

"Yes sir," the brothers answered in unison.

"What about you Bobby?" Sam asked.

"Well, while you boys are at the bookstore, I'll stay here and call around. I'll tell Frank what's goin' on and see if he'll help via phone call. I won't hold my breath though, I'm more likely ta pass out than not. But it's better than gettin' over to him and him not helpin'. I'll drop a line if I learn anything useful. You boys take care of yerselves and try not to kill each other, ok?" Both Winchesters nodded.

"Good luck boys, be safe."

"You too Bobby."

The brothers gave their friend one more nod and then headed out.

 **A/n: Thank you so much for reading! Unfortunately I don't know when the next time I update will be, however I am going to try and at least do a bit of writing as often as I can. I look forward to hearing from you guys again when I do!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/n: HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! So normally I do a Halloween story but I just didn't have the time this year. However, it is my favorite holiday so I decided to post all the same. I've been able write another 3 or 4 chapters for it so I'm excited. Anyways I hope you enjoy!**

 **Thank you to anyone/everyone who has continued to stay with me on this for your patience, time, thought, and dedication. Thank you to anyone/everyone who reads this story.**

Chapter 23

"You don't trust me."

the words caught the older Winchester off guard. "What?"

"Look, I get it. Just say it instead of making up some bullshit excuse. You aren't fooling anyone."

"Right, because me wanting to go with you because I'm worried about you has nothing to do with anything." Dean countered. "Why do you always assume the worst of me?"

"Dean," Sam growled.

"Maybe I'm not the one with trust issues," the older brother remarked putting his hands up in surrender. "That's all I'm saying."

Sam shook his head and he quickened his pace so that he walked a little ahead of Dean, keeping his eyes straight ahead of him, not bothering to wait or check to see if his sibling was still with him. Dean on the other hand was busy looking around at his surroundings and the people in them without attracting attention to himself. He would have felt better if they had driven to the store personally. It would have taken less time and it would be less likely someone would have enough time to recognize them. However his little brother had thought it would be better for them to walk, stating it's healthier and he could use it. Although his eyes were bouncing around, he never lost sight of his brother. He may be doing alright as of now, but he wasn't sure when and if another episode would in ensue. Neither brother spoke and Dean supposed it was better that way, less likely for another needless fight to break out.

After what felt like hours, but was likely only several minutes, the store was in sight. Located on the corner next to yet another coffee shop, the book store appeared busy. The brothers crossed the street and entered. Dean would be the first to admit, if Sam didn't beat him to it, he hadn't been in many book stores. In fact the last time he could remember going into one was when he went with Carmen, his girlfriend at the time. Other than that, he couldn't remember. Probably his school years. Maybe. Whereas all Dean saw were mountains of bindings that he couldn't care less about, his little brother looked as though he'd walked through the Gates of Heaven. His eyes lit up and something about his demeanor seemed to shift though slightly. People were standing at different sections labeled with different genres and different subjects. To their right, a staircase leading down could be seen, though Dean questioned its stability. Although it looked like it was taken care of, the place was clearly not newly built and was likely the only store that this spot had been.

"Where the hell should we even start to look?" Dean questioned. A mother who had walked by him holding her daughter's hand scowled at him.

"I know you don't go into book stores, like ever, but you don't need to be so loud," Sam scolded keeping his own voice low. Dean rolled his eyes. "Well we have two options. We either look around ourselves, or we risk asking someone."

It was silent between the two for a moment then Dean spoke in an attempt of a whisper with enough volume for Sam to hear. "So you take left and I'll take right?" The younger brother nodded to show he understood and agreed and turned to head towards to left side of the store.

"Wait."

"What?"

"What category should I be looking for? Religion? Myth and Fantasy?"

Sam's serious glare lingered a bit then shifted into a frown.

"Uh huh, don't go making accusational bitchfaces at me when you don't even know yourself," the older Winchester hissed trying to keep his voice down.

" I'm not..." the younger sibling started but stopped. "Probably Religion? Maybe languages?"

"I guess that makes the most sense."

"Yeah."

"Where should we meet up?"

Sam looked around and spotted a few tables where a couple sat with a book between them.

"We'll meet at those tables," he nodded in their direction.

Dean nodded and both Winchesters quickly and quietly made their way in their respected directions.

Sam had recommended to his brother that he should take a picture of the slab just in case something like this happened. After finding a section labeled Religion, Dean made a B-line for the aisle. He looked from one book spine to the next feeling more and more frustrated with every next binding he glanced at. "How the hell am I suppose to even know what religion this could possibly be? If it even is." He mumbled under his breath. He wandered up and down the aisle for a bit longer. "Fuck this." He reached his arm over a section of books and wrapped them around as many as he could, pulling out an arm full. Spotting the table Sam had referred to as their meeting place, Dean began to move towards it trying to not drop any books or bring too much attention to himself. He nearly made it to his desired destination when something solid smacked into his shoulder. A few of the books, which had already began to slip a little in his grasp, slid from his hands and crashed onto the floor causing multiple eyes to fall on him.

"I am so sorry. Here." Dean looked down at the source of the avalanche and saw a man who had to be at least in his forties quickly scrambling to pick up the books that had tumbled to the ground. The way he moved reminded Dean of a terrified mouse, scattering about and picking up the mess all the while seemingly talking and apologizing to no one in particular. The mousey man stacked the retrieved books back on Dean's pile, looking at him with apologetic light eyes. The man's appearance looked just as frazzled as he seemed, a beard that looked like it was less for show and more because he didn't want to be bothered with shaving it and hair that though not particularly long, didn't exactly look like he had taken much time to groom.

"It's fine," The older Winchester responded. The man just gave Dean a weak grin and then took off presumably wherever he had been heading originally before the collision. The older brother stared after him for a bit, hoping that whoever he was wasn't actually an angel. Once at the table, he rested the books on top and sat down in one of the surprisingly comfortable plastic chairs. Looking first to his left then his right, in front of him, then in back and seeing no one too close or hovering, Dean pulled out his phone and opened up the picture of the tablet. Keeping the image low from sight, he began thumbing through the first book, hoping his brother would join him soon with an answer.

Sam traced his long index finger along the spines of the books as he wandered along the aisle labeled Languages. Having gone to school and having studied a few, such as Latin, he knew at least a few he could rule out. He looked to his left then his right before he pulled out his phone and opened the picture of the tablet. He'd never seen anything like it. It didn't even look like an actual language so much as some code using shapes. He could rule out Latin, Japense, Chinese, Spanish, Koren, and it didn't look European or Middle Eastern. It was likely old. Way before his time and likely even his great great great ancestors. The more he stared at the symbols or words or whatever they were, the more unsure he was about where this could have originated from and where to begin to look. Maybe it was other worldly? Did angels have their own language? If so, maybe it was angelic? An idea popped into Sam's head and quickly made his way back to the front door where he slipped off to the side out of the way and made a phone call. The phone rang a number of times before going to what was considered an answering machine. "Hey it's Sam. Listen if you can, we're at Westerman's Books. We have something that may be important and we could really use your help." The younger Winchester sighed and stepped back inside the store just to nearly be knocked over by two teenage girls who were racing excitedly passed him.

"He should be here any minute! " He heard one of them say in a raised high pitch voice. "Did you remember to bring your copy?"

"Like I could forget."

"So true! Do you think he'll make another one? "

"He better. You don't just kill one of the main characters off and have the other one take off with a demon."

The last word caught Sam's attention. Demon? He tried to walk as though he were causally walking the same direction as the girls, but they were too busy engrossed in their conversation to notice he even existed.

"Omg I know right?! I freaking bawled my eyes out when Dean sacrificed himself to save his little brother."

"Shit, I was already bawling my eyes out when I found out Dean had been the one possessed the whole time."

"I totally didn't see it coming! "

Sam's heart caught in his throat. There was no way he could be hearing them right. Dean? As in his brother Dean? Were they talking about that night in the cemetery? But how could they know? They had been talking as though they had been there. Unable to contain his curiosity, Sam tapped the girl who had been talking excitedly on the shoulder and he gave her a friendly smile.

"Hi. I couldn't help but overhear you talking about demons and possession. If you're alright with me asking, what are you guys talking about? It sounds right up my alley," he quickly tacked on hoping he sounded more like he was interested then suspicious.

The girl who he had gotten the attention of smiled at him and pointed to a stack of books sitting by a sign that read there would be a book signing by the author.

"If you like demons and the supernatural then it's for sure 'up your alley,'" she said. She looked Sam up and down before adding "you're into demons?"

"Yeah," Sam commented with an uncomfortable shrug. "Well I mean no, but they interest me."

"You totally don't look the type," the girl said in a tone that suggested what she said was a compliment.

The younger Winchester laughed. "Yeah well, I guess you shouldn't..." He stopped realizing he almost unintentionally made a pun that was Dean worthy. "Nevermind."

"Do you, want to come to the book signing with us?" The girl asked.

"Thanks but I've got to get back to my brother. We're uh, working on something."

"Wait! You have a brother?! " she asked excitedly. "Is he into demons too?"

" Uh he um...I-I wouldn't say he's into them per say, " the younger Winchester fumbled awkwardly. He didn't want to say much else, afraid that he may already have said too much. Knowing there were angels around but having no way of knowing who is and who isn't, not to mention demons could be lurking around, he quickly wrapped up his chat. "Hey it's been nice talking with you guys but I've gotta go. Enjoy the signing." Before either of them could say anything he quickly walked passed the books they had mentioned, snatching one on his way and disappearing into another aisle out of sight. He eyed the cover than flipped the book so that he could read the story summary. The more he read the more his eyes grew wide and the harder his heart pounded. By the time He reached the end he was shaking and felt as though the air around him was becoming harder to obtain. Trying to act natural, he made his way to his brother.

 **A/n: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Have a happy and safe Halloween!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/n: Alright, I'm sure you're all tired of hearing me say it, but I'm so sorry for such a delay. I've got A LOT going on that makes it hard for me to feel inspired to sit down and write. But it's like I said before, I'm still planning on seeing this one through. If nothing else I want to see this sequel finished. I'm not really sure what's going to happen with "Behind Green Eyes", but I'm not shutting it down at the moment either. For anyone who's still reading,following, and reviewing this and the few new people following it, thank you all!**

 **Thank you so so very much hectatess, VegasGranny, and of course LilyBolt for your reviews, support, and patience. Seriously, you don't know how much it means to me. And that goes for the rest of you who are following, have favorites, and have commented on this story.**

Chapter 24

"Please for the love of...whatever I don't even care what, tell me you found something." Dean said slumping back in his chair.

"I found something alright. But it's nothing to do with the tablet. At least I don't think. " Sam took the seat next to Dean and pulled out the book he had taken from the stack at the front. "Look at this." Sam handed it to his sibling.

"So?"

"Read the back." Dean flipped it over and began to read. Sam watched his reaction as it twisted with a furrowed brow to a look as though he'd just seen something incredulous.

"Dude what the fuck?" He asked forgetting about the volume of his voice and his location.

"I don't know."

"Who the hell does this Carver Edlund guy think he is?"

"Well to answer that we're actually in luck. There's a book signing and guess who the guest author is? "

"I'm gonna kill'em."

"Just act cool. We don't know what he is. He could be an angel."

"I can't believe this guy. Invading our privacy like that."

"We're going to need to get him alone and talk to him. I don't want to make a scene in front of a bunch of people especially since anyone here could be an angel."

"So when does this lovely event take place?" the older sibling asked. Sam checked his phone for the time.

"In a few minutes or so. I have a feeling I already know the answer to this but, did you find out anything?" Dean waved a hand out gesturing to the mountain of books stacked on the table.

"I learned that I can carry about half a shelf of books at one time."

Sam stared at his brother unimpressed. "Alright, I'll reword my question. Did you find out anything useful? "

"Nope, nothing."

"Yeah I figured as much," the younger man sighed in defeat. "Well seems like our best lead at the moment is to see what else this writer knows."

"Any ideas on what we're going to say to him? Other than 'what the fuck are you and how do you know about us?'"

"I'm still working on that."

"You think maybe he's a demon? I mean a demon would have a pretty good chunk of our story I would imagine."

Sam shook his head. "I don't know, I doubt it. I don't really see a demon sitting down and writing a story you know? I would be more inclined to believe he's an angel. Or hell, he could be something entirely different."

"A psychic maybe? They can see things right? He may have somehow seen into our future or something."

"I don't think that's exactly how it works, but I mean maybe? Come on, let's put these back and head over to meet the author of our lives."

The brothers had just got the last of the books back into the shelf when they heard the introduction of the author begin. Most of the people who stood eagerly awaiting to meet him where women, but a few men were sprinkled in the mix as well. Sam and Dean went to stand among the crowd and watched on. Dean's breath caught in his throat and his eyes grew wide as the writer stepped into view waving awkwardly and smiling nervously.

"I don't fucking believe it," he growled under his breath. The younger Winchester heard his sibling and he looked from the mousey older man with a scraggly beard to his brother.

"What?"

"I ran into that joker earlier. Or, he ran into me. Literally." Sam's eyes snapped back up at the writer.

"Thanks, thank you everyone for coming out today. It's really crazy to see all my fans in one place." Dean looked around and scoffed. A handful of people was hardly anything to get excited about it if you asked him. "I've uh, been asked to go over a little bit about the concept of the story and I know you have questions, but I do have to keep this short so..." No sooner had the words left his mouth then someone raised their hand excitedly. "Um ye-yes?"

"Where did you come up with the idea?" The girl asked. Sam recognized her as the girl he had spoken with earlier.

"Oh um...it's kind of an idea that I've been playing with for a-a while now actually."

Dean mumbled something under his breath. Another girl raised her hand.

"Yeah um, why did you decide to make Sam such a dick to Dean?" Sam's face scrunched up at the question.

"Oh...um..."

"Hey! Sam's not a dick!" Another girl shouted at the first one.

"Uh yeah he totally is," she snapped back.

"Ok ok let's not fight please," he said nervously.

"I'm about ready to go over there and kick his ass."

"Hey, relax. Remember, nothing that draws attention to us."

"This is bullshit."

The questions continued a bit longer to the point where Dean thought he was going to lose his head. He wanted to ask a few questions himself, but he kept his mouth shut like he had been told. He had hoped someone would ask Carver Edlund something he wanted to know, but most of it was back and forth questions nothing that told Dean too much about what he couldn't remember. The questions were switched out for him talking about his writing. It was all boring mumbo jumbo to the older Winchester and once again he wasn't being told anything he wanted to know about. It surprised him that with all the talk he had to sit through that he wasn't given anything useful. The event moved on again and everyone was asked to form a line and he would begin the signing. Everyone quickly and excitedly stepped into place with their books at the ready. Sam and Dean joined. Sam held the book he had grabbed and shown his sibling earlier making them fit in with the fans. The volunteers, no doubt employees of the store, began to walk up and talk to people waiting and monitoring when they could step up and see him. The woman who was in front of the brothers stepped up to greet the writer while handing him her copy.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," she smiled and held out her hand to him.

"And you too," he responded shaking her hand.

"Make it out to Wincester4ver," she said eyeing the author. Carver Edlund smiled politely but the look in his eyes told the brothers a different story. Dean looked over at his little brother mouthing the name the girl had just said with a quizzical expression. Sam responded with a look of his own that told the older Winchester he had an idea what it meant, but the explanation could and should wait. He didn't need his sibling getting anymore fired up than he already was.

"Alrighty," the writer said uncomfortably.

"Please tell me that you plan on writing more. I mean, Dean dead and Sam off with a demon, you aren't seriously just going to leave that there are you?"

"Uh...To be determined." Sam felt Dean move himself closer and nudged him with his shoulder.

"I really hope you do!" With that she was off and it was the Winchesters turn to step up. Sam opened the book as if to have it signed.

"You can go ahead and make that out to Sam and Dean. Winchester," the older brother replied unenthusiastically. Carver looked up at the them.

"You sure you don't want your names or your screen names or whatever it is I just signed?" He asked.

"Funny enough, those are our names. And they are plastered all over your damn story!" Dean roared. Sam looked around at the pair's of eyes who were now on him.

"Dean," he hissed, but the older Winchester went on like he hasn't heard him.

"Where do you get off spying on people and writing about them?"

"Wha-what?"

"My brother and I are NOT here for your entertainment!"

"Dean!"

The older brother grabbed the writer by the collar of his jacket and lifted him to his feet. "P-please." Dean opened his mouth to respond but before he could get a word out, the entire building began to shake as if there was an earthquake and a bright light shone out of nowhere causing the older sibling to close his eyes.

XXX

When Dean opened his eyes again, he was back in the motel room. He looked around frantically seeing not only his brother who looked just as disoriented as he was, but a startled Bobby and an angry looking Castiel.

"What the hell?"

The angel approached him with clenched fists and eyes that made even Dean want to back down. "What part of 'try not to draw attention to yourselves' was unclear?"

"The guy pissed me off!" The older sibling said defensively. "You angels need to find better things to do than write stories about people. It's fucking creepy."

"We have far better things to do than to write stories especially about humans I can assure you."

"Well Carver Edlund doesn't. Which by the way, is a stupid name for an angel."

"The man you tried to assault wasn't an angel. And Carver Edlund isn't his name."

"Hey I wasn't trying to assault the guy. If anything he assaulted me with his stupid book."

Sam furrowed his brow. "Then who is he? Or what is he?"

"He's a Prophet of the Lord and his name is Chuck Shirley."

"A what?"

"You've got to be shitting me?"

"You two are lucky that I was able to reach you in time, you would have both been ash."

"How did you know where to find us?"

"Sam called me and told me." He turned to face the other Winchester. "What was it you needed Sam?"

"I uh...I wanted to ask if you know anything about that?" He pointed to the slab sitting on the table in front of where Bobby had been seated before the angel had shown up out of the blue and with both Winchesters, startling him to his feet. He peered over at it and then looked over at the hunter.

"Where did you get that?" He questioned him.

"Special delivery drop off at a motel."

"Can you read what it says?" Sam asked hopefully. The celestial being shook his head. "Do you know what it is?"

"It's a tablet."

"No shit Sherlock," Dean snapped.

"Please Castiel, is there anything you can tell us about it?" The younger man added giving his brother a stern look.

"It's a Word of God. There's only one person that can read it."

"If you say God I swear-"

"A Prophet."

 **A/n: Thank you so much everybody for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you all in the next one!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hey everyone! I know it's been a long time, but I finally have gotten a chance to post again. To those who are still following this story, thank you so much. I know I say it every time but know I'm still sorry that it's taking me forever to post this story, but I really appreciate the patience and support.**

 **Special thank you to VegasGranny, hectatess, Souless666, and LilyBolt for your recent comments/thoughts/ support. I appreciate you guys so much.**

Chapter 25 

"Hold on," Dean started. "You mean to tell me that this whole time you knew? I wasted all that time in that damn bookstore for nothing?!"

"It wasn't for nothing," Sam countered. "I mean we did I guess meet a prophet." He turned to face Castiel. "Are prophets drawn to it or something? I mean there is no way it's a coincidence that there just so happens to be a prophet who is the only one who can read the tablet, this close to a tablet. Right?"

"No," the angel responded shortly. "It does seem highly unlikely that you would encounter a prophet and have a tablet. The odds of those two things on their own are already very rare."

"Maybe we've just gotten lucky for once," the younger man said.

"Unlikely. You were both seen by an archangel, I would recommend you leave. They may not know where you are, but they know now that you are here in this town."

"I hear you and we will, but we really need to speak with this prophet about this tablet.," Sam replied. "If it's a Word of God, this could be critical information against the angels." Dean watched the angel carefully. He still didn't trust that this wasn't all some plan to get he and his brother exactly where they wanted them by means of tricking them into trusting one of them. "Castiel, can you take me to him?"

" No. "

"Look, I just want to talk to him. That's all, I promise."

"Then you should have talked to him when you had the chance instead of threatening him."

" I know, we're sorry, " Sam tried again sincerely. The angel frowned at him.

"You seem...different." The younger Winchester shifted his feet and frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you seem surprisingly fine for a man who's freshly off drinking demon blood."

"Uh...Thanks?"

"It's not a compliment."

Dean looked from his brother to the celestial being. "Ok Chuckles listen up. We're trying to stop the devil here. If my brother can talk with the guy that can read the Word of God, don't you think that might help with this whole apocalypse situation? I mean you said you were on board with us right? You want to help us? Then let my brother talk to the damn guy."

Castiel moved closer to Dean making him feel uncomfortable with the lack of distance between them. "If I wanted to, I could eliminate you in the time equivalent to you blinking your eyes." He said in low calm tone. " So, for the last time, I suggest you start showing me some respect and stop treating me like I'm your servant and like I owe you a favor. "

"Yeah? Go ahead. 'Elimate' me," Dean challenged in a tone that matched the angel's. "I mean the world's about to go down the shitter anyways right? So go ahead and smit me and let the world end. Or, you can do what you claim you would rather do and help us try and save it by letting my brother talk to the guy." The room was silent, no one daring to breath or speak. Bobby still stood dumbstruck, Sam looked like wasn't sure if it would be best for him to approach his brother or remain where he stood. Neither the older Winchester nor the angel tore their eyes from the other. Both with a look of disapproval. The sound of someone knocking broke the tension, causing the hunter and the brothers to turn their attention to the door. The younger man looked over at the older.

"You expecting one of your friends Bobby?" Dean asked turning his own eyes to the hunter.

"All my friends are in this room," he answered. The older brother nodded. Before he could move however, Sam had already reached the door.

"Sam," Dean started to warn, but he didn't get a chance to say anymore. The door was opened and on the other side of it stood the mousey author looking just as nerves as he had back at the bookstore. Sam's eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped as Dean moved towards him, stopping when he remembered their last meeting.

The man, Chuck Shirley according to the angel, smiled and waved. "Hey." Everyone stood frozen.

"Well, invite him in. Don't just stand there like an idjit," Bobby demanded. Hearing his friend Sam came to his sense and shook his head.

"Uh, right. Yeah. Come in," he said to the man. Chuck looked unsure but accepted the invitation. The younger man closed the door and locked it behind him causing the man to give him a nervous glance. Sam put his hands up to show he meant no harm. "Sorry" He apologized. "How did you know we were here?"

"Oh," Chuck said as if remembering suddenly. He put his hand in his back jean pocket and pulled out what the boys recognized as the little envelope that there room cards were held in for to their motel room. Both boys frowned and moved to feel their jacket and Jean pockets.

"Where did you get that?" Sam questioned.

Isn't it obvious?" Dean scoffed. His eyes stayed locked on the visitor. "You knew that was going to happen because you wrote about it. That's how it works, right?"

"I just found it on the floor at the store where you guys disappeared, " he shrugged innocently. "How'd you do that by the way?"

"Alright, you can drop the act. We know what you are," Dean informed in a no nonsense tone.

"What I am?"

"That's right, the angel told us."

"Angel? What are you talking about?"

"You're a prophet."

The small frazzled man tried to catch his footing and he swallowed visibly, putting his hands to his head. "Y-You guys are kidding."

"Do we look like we're kidding?" Dean asked. Sam watched the man, his arms out slightly in case he needed to catch him if he should faint. The color drained from Chuck's face.

"Ok. Who are you guys really?"

"Mr. Shirley," Sam began softly. "We really are Sam and Dean Winchester. And that stuff in the book you wrote, really happened to us. I know this is a lot to take in. Here, sit down." The younger man directed the writer towards one of the empty seats. Chuck fell into it and Sam was grateful the chair had a supportive back on it to catch him.

"If that's true..." He's eyes darted to Sam. "I...I am so sorry for everything!" His attention moved to Dean who was staring at him in a similar manner as he had the angel. "And Dean...you didn't deserve the amount of abuse you went through and...oh God," Chuck turned paler. "I killed you. I'm a murderer. I am so so sorry."

"Worse," the older Winchester said coldly. The man frowned for a minute and then looked as though there had been a train speeding right for him.

"Your mom. I made you kill your own mom." Dean only continued to stare at him. " I am -"

"You say you're sorry again I swear I will kill you. Arch angels be damned."

"Dean, stop it. That's enough," Sam demanded.

"Is this the talk you meant to have with him?" Castiel retorted.

"No. Look, Chuck, we know you didn't do anything." Both the writer and the older brother looked at the youngest man in the room. "You aren't controlling us, you just...you know what's going to happen next is all. Chuck, there are so many worse things out there than demons and ghosts. "

"Like angels?"

"It's hard to believe I know, but we need your help." Sam's eyes grew pleading as he kept them on the author.

"M-my help?"

"Yes. See, we have something that only a prophet can decipher and we think it can help."

"Help with what?"

"Honestly," Sam started nervously. " Uh...The end of the world."

"C-come again?"

"Armageddon, the end is neigh, the devil is coming to town," Dean added. "And you're going to help us put a plug in the whole thing." Chuck began to make a noise equivalent to a giggle and then his eyes rolled in the back of his head and the chair was the only thing supporting him as he fell unconscious.

"Uh," Sam's own eyes grew wide as he stared down at the writer.

Dean tossed his hand up in the air and rolled his eyes. "Is there another prophet we can talk to? Maybe one that isn't so...this?" He motioned at the man.

"There can only be one prophet at one given time." The angel explained. "A new one doesn't come to be until the previous one ceases to be."

"Great, toss me that pillow," the older Winchester remarked.

"Dean," Sam reprimanded.

"Alright fine, then you can deal with Wimpy when he wakes up."

"You've talked to him. Though you're definition of talking is questionable," Castiel glared over at Dean who in turn flipped him off. "Now you need to leave town."

"We can't just leave him here. Besides, we need him to read the tablet for us remember? You said only a prophet can and we only get the one prophet."

"Son," Bobby spoke up. "Are you suggestin' what I think you're suggestin'?"

"I mean there's nothing that implies it's against his will." Sam shrugged. Dean shook his head.

"We are so going to Hell."

 **A/N: Thank you all so much for reading. I'll try to be better about writing and posting.**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hello again all! I have another chapter completed and ready to go for you this week! I feel like things are starting to get better and I'm hoping that means I will be in the right headspace to write some more. I've missed it so much! Anyways, thank you so so so much everyone who reads, reviews, favorites, and/or follows!**

 **A special thank you to wolfgirl2013, hectatess, and VegasGranny for your recent reviews/thoughts and of course your time, support, and interest. I always love hearing from you and I'm glad you're still enjoying this story.**

Chapter 26

"When I said we were thieves and convicts I didn't mean this," Bobby said looking at his rearview mirror at the youngest Winchester.

"We don't know that he won't be on board with this when it's told to him the right way." "Hey, I just told him the truth," Dean countered.

"You could have been less of a dick about it Dean. I mean that's kinda what almost got us killed in the first place," Sam shot back.

"Yeah speaking of, how does kidnapping a prophet not qualify to be deep fried?" Dean questioned. "Maybe that would have been a good question to ask Castiel."

"It's not my fault he took off. Maybe you shouldn't have shared your grand plan to kidnap the guy that he didn't want us to talk to in the first place," the older brother snapped back. "Besides, I still don't trust that he isn't working with the angels. You know? Trying to play the good guy and be on our side and then once he has us, turn us in and make us agree to be angel condoms in a war to roast the planet."

"Why would he save us then? Or tell us that we have a tablet and a prophet? I mean honestly I don't even know that he is capable of what you're accusing him of. He doesn't really come across that way. In fact he seems too literal if I'm being honest. If he wanted us dead or captured I'm pretty sure he would just do it."

"Come on Sam you're smarter than this. It makes no sense for an angel, who apparently is a soldier of God, to turn against his kind just to help two guys he just met completely out of the blue. And then he just comes and goes as he pleases. I mean what's his end game?"

"Why is it so hard to believe that an angel could be good with good intentions?" "After all that we've learned and heard and seen, are you really asking me that?" "

Alright cut it you two," Bobby spoke up. "You boys bitch more'an an old married couple." The brothers fell silent and reminded that way until both of them fell asleep.

The next time Dean opened his eyes, he was asulted by what at first he had thought was a light being shone in his face and then realized was the sunlight bouncing off something and hitting him right in the eyes as they opened. He grunted and squeezed them shut again. "What the hell?" He half asked half groaned out loud. When no one answered he slowly opened one eye, putting his hand up to block the reflecting sun and then turned in his seat to look at the driver's side. No Bobby. Feeling a bit more awake he turned even more to look at the seat behind him. No Sam and no Prophet. Both eyes wide open now, he scrambled to get himself out of the car. Paying better attention to his surroundings, he realized the car had been parked in a patch of dead grass that looked like it was once the front lawn to a house that looked like it was on it's last leg. He shut the car door behind him and headed towards to entrance. Before he reached the front step, the front door opened and Bobby appeared. His face looked a bit worn and Dean noticed heavy bags under his eyes.

"Finally," the older man grumbled. "I was just about ta go wake you up Sleepin' Beauty. Hurry up." Dean climbed the steps and ducked into the house while Bobby scanned the yard and closed and locked up behind them. Now inside Dean was hit with the stench of rotting wood and mold causing him to cover his nose and mouth with the back of his hand.

"Boy, you know how to pick'em," he remarked to the hunter. "Skeezy motels, rotting carcasses of houses. You take us to the nicest places Bobby."

"What can I say, I'm a real gentleman," the hunter retorted. "Yer brother's downstairs with Chuck. It's my turn to get some shut eye. When you have a moment dump POS car number three somewhere down the way would ya?" Without waiting for a response the older man headed into a room down the hall and slammed the door behind him.

Dean began looking for a staircase leading down, finding one behind the first door he opened. Carefully he made his way where he saw the writer laying on a cot and his brother pacing back and forth. Upon hearing the stairs creak, the younger man looked up to see his sibling. "Hey," he greeted him in a whisper.

"The guy's still out?" Dean questioned his younger brother looking at the man asleep on the cot.

"Yeah, uh, I thought he'd be awake by now but I guess not."

"What are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know. That he passed out and we didn't want to just leave him there?"

"I mean what are you going to say to get him to join team save the world?"

"That, I really don't know," Sam sighed.

"So what do you think the 'Word of God' says?"

"Whatever it is, I hope it can help because if I'm being honest, I have no idea how to stop the devil from rising."

"That makes two of us. And between you and me, I think this is above Bobby's pay grade."

"We're talking about the devil here Dean. Pretty sure it's above everyone's pay grade."

Dean looked over at the prophet. "I should go get some ice cold water, that oughta do the trick."

"No," Sam replied quickly. "Just, leave him alone. He'll wake up on his own. Besides, this place has no running water."

"Well that's just awesome," Dean sighed. "Alright well, while you look after Wimpy here, I'm gonna go move the junker."

"Be safe," the younger Winchester said with a nod.

"It's not like I'm going far."

"Doesn't matter, most accidents happen only a few miles or so from their homes. Plus I mean, you know, angels could be anywhere. Can't be too careful, especially since we have the prophet."

"You are such a nerd," the older sibling commented as he headed back upstairs. He found the car keys on the table,which he wasn't too convinced would support anything heavier, and made his way back to the car. Dean drove it down the way a few blocks and parked it on the street by an apartment complex then turned to walk back to the house.

"Your brother wouldn't happen to be in pieces in the trunk of that hunk of junk would he?" The older Winchester turned to face the familiar voice. A man with a dark suit and even darker eyes was standing on the sidewalk next to the car Dean had just abandoned.

"Would it make your day if he was?"

"It would make my millennium."

"Then it brings me great pleasure to be the one to burst your millennium bubble."

The demon squinted at the Winchester. "And after all I've done for you."

"What do you want Crowley?" Dean asked unamused.

"King," Crowley corrected him.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna call you that."

"Well, Dean, you already know what I want. Unless of course you have the brain of a titsy fly in which case I'm impressed you remember me at all."

"You want me to kill my brother. Well, like I said the first time, that's never gonna happen." "Never say never," the demon tisked.

"If you want Sam dead so badly, then why don't you just go kill him yourself?"

"Hello? King. A king doesn't do the dirty work. He has others do it for him," Crowley explained.

"Then why don't you send a minion?"

"Because truth be told, they're all afraid of the big bad Winchester. No one wants to go near him."

Dean glared at the demon who smirked back at him. The older Winchester couldn't tell which smile was more unsettling, the one on his lips or the one in his eyes.

"Oh, so, you're already aware then? Of what your big little brother is capable of and what he's been up to whilst you've been away? Then you should also know that by allowing him to live, you're no better than he is. Which means, you're no better than a demon."

"You pompous son of a bitch," he snarled.

"Flattery will get you nowhere Darling," the demon retorted with another grin. Dean moved towards him but before he could take more than two steps, Crowley flicked his wrist and Dean went flying across the street landing hard on his back. The demon approached the older Winchester as he lay trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him. "Now, consider this my final warning," he advised. "Our next date isn't going to go as smoothly as the last. If you don't put an end to your brother, I'm going to be forced to have to take things away. Or possibly, give something back. And trust me, what you've lost, you don't want returned." Before Dean had the chance to respond, the demon disappeared much like had the first time and just as quickly and abruptly as he had come.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


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